Metroid: Dread
by Enterprise F
Summary: After being cleared of all charges in the BSL Incident, Samus finds herself fighting off a Space Pirate attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters, itself.  The outcome of the attack will have dire consequences for the entire Federation.
1. Chapter 1

Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid or Pokémon, Nintendo does. They and all of their characters are the property of Nintendo (for Metroid and Pokémon), Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri (for Pokémon), and their respective creators.

Metroid: Dread

Chapter 1:

Samus sat inside her chamber in Galactic Federation Headquarters and stared up at the ceiling. The chamber was not officially a jail cell, but it had the feeling of such. She was clad in an orange jumpsuit, similar to those worn by prisoners. However, she had not officially been arrested for any crime, yet. Still, in the two months since the destruction of the Biologic Space Labs, or BSL, research facility over SR388, the planet, and both the Metroid Breeding Project and the X Parasites, the Galactic Federation had not been idle. In the intervening months, the Federation had launched probes into the destruction of BSL research facility and the planet SR388. In addition, they had launched investigations to see if any X Parasites had somehow managed to escape the destruction of the research station or the planet. So far, their results had come up negative, much to the relief of Samus Aran, Adam Malkovich, and several prominent members of the Galactic Federation Council, not the least of which was Councilman Colin Williams of Earth, and U-Mos, a representative of the Luminoth, a species that resembles bipedal moths that stand at around eight feet in height, and have thin bodies and wings. Despite their outward appearance, they are quite formidable in combat and have incredible psychic powers, particularly in the realm of telekinesis and energy projection.

The Chairman of The Galactic Federation Council, Elric, a Tolkienesque elf standing at over seven feet in height with brown hair and green eyes had been livid at the recent revelations and depositions that had been given to the Council. He had thought that the specters of Project Metroid Warriors and Project Hunter were behind him. Now with the research facility on Biologic Space Labs having been exposed as having cloned and bred Metroids, and the plans to capture and study the X Parasites, his political opponents, as well as others who were neutral, and even some allies, were quickly pointing out the dangers of trying to harness the X Parasites that both Samus Aran and Adam Malkovich had outlined in their depositions to the Council. He had, of course, objected to the testimony of Samus and Adam, saying that they were just trying to save their own skins and that the threat of the X Parasites was not as great as had initially been stated. He knew that some on the Council would believe him, while others would not. Yet others simply did not care. They were just looking for an excuse to impeach him and throw him out of office. Councilman Williams' investigation into his involvement in the illegal projects being conducted on the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility 777_, as well as his involvement in the assassination of former Chairman Keaton, had not yet concluded, but he knew that once it had, he would likely be found guilty. His greatest fear was what would happen then. However, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He still had a lot of dirt on many members of the Federation Council, as well as on Vice-Chairman Cyrus. He knew that a lot of people would rather silence him than let that information get out so he could at least try to get some leniency granted to him and receive a sentence other than death.

He had hoped that the fact that Samus and Adam had destroyed the Biologic Space Labs research facility, along with SR388, would have taken heat off of the investigation of him. Instead, it had only turned up the heat since Adam had stated that the man who was communicating with him on the station was none other than the Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, one of Elric's most trusted aides and advisors, and the man he, himself, had hand-picked for the position. Even worse was the fact that Lorenz had said that he merely did so under direct orders from Elric. What was supposed to have been a way for Elric to save face had instead turned into one gigantic screw up. Still, Samus did not know how the Council would rule in the tribunal that they had held over her and Adam's decision to destroy the BSL research facility and SR388, along with the Metroid Breeding Program and X Parasites.

Samus's questions would soon be answered, for the door to her quarters soon opened and two Galactic Federation Marines entered the room. "Pardon the intrusion, Miss Aran, but you have been summoned to appear before the Galactic Federation Council. A decision in the case of the destruction of Biologic Space Labs and the X Parasites and the Metroid Breeding Program has been made."

Samus sighed and rose from her pallet. She followed the two Marines out of her "quarters" and walked down the long corridor to the Council Chamber. Along the way, she saw a number of Army Troopers and Marines standing guard around the various chambers and offices of the Council members. There were also many Army Troopers and Marines on patrol throughout the hallways. The Army Troopers each glanced at her and warily passed her, some of them beginning to raise their weapons on her. The Marines, however, behaved far differently. Some of them almost saluted her as she was led past them. She sighed at the sight. There were already divisions in the Galactic Federation, and it seemed as if these divisions had now reached the military.

It was not long before the group reached the Council Chamber. A large set of doors stood before Samus and the Marines. She had seen these doors before, when she had given her reports to the Galactic Federation Council after her first mission to Zebes, the Phazon Crisis, and during her deposition after the barely averted disasters onboard _Research Facility 777_ and the BSL research facility. The Marines stepped forward and pushed the massive doors open and Samus could see the entire Galactic Federation Council assembled in the chamber. Samus then entered the chamber and after she had entered, the doors clanked shut behind her.

The large interior of the Galactic Federation Council Chamber consisted mostly of seats in a stadium-like amphitheater. Sitting in each of the seats were the representatives of each of the members of the Galactic Federation, as well as some of the more important colonies of various members. Thousands of people sat, surrounding Samus as she walked down an aisle that led to the center of the chamber. She soon arrived at the center of the chamber and she found two chairs. Sitting on in one of the chairs was the box-like computer unit with a single robotic eye from her new gunship that housed the mind and soul of Commander General Adam Malkovich. Samus took the seat next to the computer and looked over at the unit. She looked up and saw the familiar faces of the members of the Galactic Federation Council, particularly Councilman Colin Williams of Earth, as well as Chairman Elric and Vice-Chairman Cyrus Mann, a human male with spiky bluish hair. He had a scowl plastered on his face, but it was not directed at anyone in particular.

"Are you alright, Samus?" Adam's computerized voice asked.

Samus nodded.

A gavel was then pounded and she looked around at the Council. It was then that a reptilian alien stood up and came before the rest of the Council. He looked down at Samus and Adam and said, "Samus Aran, Commander General Adam Malkovich, you have been called before the Galactic Federation Council once again because of the tribunal that we have held with regard to your involvement in the destruction of the Biologic Space Labs research facility over the planet SR388, which is Galactic Federation property, against the orders of the Galactic Federation, as well as having destroyed the Metroid Breeding Program and the eradication of the X Parasites, which _certain elements_," he made a not so subtle glance over to Chairman Elric, and Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, "of our government had wanted living specimens for research purposes. After going over all of the evidence presented here, both by the two of you, and by other witnesses, we find that you are not guilty of any wrongdoing. The threat of the X Parasites was truly far greater than anyone here had ever imagined. Your decision to destroy the BSL research facility and SR388 was the right one. You are officially cleared of any and all wrongdoing in this incident. Samus Aran, Commander General Adam Malkovich, you are free to go." The alien, who was acting Speaker of the Council ever since the death of the former Speaker, Chamolos, pounded the gavel once more, signifying an end to the proceedings.

Samus breathed a sigh of relief at the announcement and she could sense Adam doing the same inside his computer. She also gave a soft smile. While she had not known what the outcome would have been, looking back, she found that this was the most politically expedient outcome imaginable, especially when presented with the full data on the X Parasites. Chairman Elric, however, was not pleased with the decision, and he let the Council know his displeasure. "What?" he roared, livid at their decision. "That rogue bounty hunter destroyed a Galactic Federation station and two Federation projects!" he yelled, jabbing his finger at Samus. "The Metroid Breeding Program was developed for peaceful purposes…"

"The Metroid Breeding Program had been destroyed by the SA-X, not Samus Aran, Mister Chairman," Colin Williams interjected. "Samus was also forced to destroy the BSL station because the X infestation was out of control and would almost certainly have spread."

"With enough troops, we could have retaken the research facility and captured some of the X and used them for the benefit of the galaxy," Elric countered.

"We have already gone over this, Chairman," another voice sounded. It came from a human female with short red hair. Samus recognized her as Madeline Powell, Mars's representative on the Galactic Federation Council. "The X Parasites were far too dangerous for any capture attempt to be feasible, even with Samus's cooperation. There had been no less than ten SA-Xs at the time of the station's destruction." Madeline then paused before continuing, "Any capture attempt would have cost countless lives, and risked opening the entire galaxy to the threat of the X. We already know what bioweapons and unknown organisms can do to ill thought out plans. Look at what happened on the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven_."

Elric cringed at the mention of those two incidents. All of Platoon 07 had been lost on the _Bottle Ship_ and even worse losses had occurred on _Research Facility 777_. The Federation had lost an entire troopship during that incident along with all of its equipment, as well as nearly all of its complement, save for the transport, _G.F.S. Hermes_ and the men and women of the re-form Platoon 07 under the command of Captain Anthony Higgs. That was a massive black mark on his reign as Chairman of the Galactic Federation Council. Add to that the near disaster that was barely averted by the actions of Samus Aran and Adam Malkovich, when they prevented the disaster on _Research Facility 777_ from spreading out to the entire Federation, and it was clear why many in the military who knew of these events had sided with Samus and Adam in their decision to wipe out the X Parasites, no matter the cost. As Samus's stock rose, however, Elric's fell. He knew that things were getting desperate. With the accusations of him having been involved in the assassination of Chairman Keaton and now having been exposed as having commissioned and being heavily involved in the bioweapons projects on the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility 777_, Elric knew that he had to step up his timetable. If he did not do something soon, he knew that Councilman Williams, as well as others would either impeach him and later find him guilty of violating numerous Federation laws, not the least of which was the murder of Chairman Keaton.

Elric soon sat back down and barked, "Fine. Do whatever you want with Samus. Let her go if it makes you all feel better. But don't doubt for a second the only reason you're exonerating her of any wrongdoing is because of the political backlash that would result if you didn't. If you had a spine in any of your bodies, you would have found her guilty of _something_, even if it were merely disobeying a direct order given by a member of the Galactic Federation. After all, last time I heard, it was Samus who worked for the Galactic Federation, not the Galactic Federation who worked for Samus."

Samus began to look concerned now. She knew that _she_ was not in danger from the Federation, but she was feeling more concern for the Federation, itself. She felt as if she should have expected this harsh rhetoric to come from Elric, given the trouble he was currently in. The question she had was how would the Federation Council respond to this. She knew some members of the Council did, in fact, vote their conscience on this, but others did so merely to be politically expedient, as Elric had said in his tirade. The question would be what would happen if she had to do something like she did on BSL again, only there was no one to know the true threat of whatever crisis was just barely averted. What would happen then? She was also concerned since she had been doing some more research on the Federation and its laws and had found that Elric and the Council, particularly members whose planets were closer to the core of the galaxy, were voting to consolidate power to the Council, and taking away the autonomy that the individual member planets of the Galactic Federation had enjoyed. It had been the reason that Earth had recently nearly seceded from the Federation twice, with Earth only staying due to concessions being made to Earth and its colonies, both those directly affiliated with Earth and those who were independent of the Mother World, as some humans had taken to calling Earth. She made a note to herself to keep listening to the news, watching it on multiple channels so that she would get the full story of what was happening.

After Elric had finished his speech, he went to leave the Federation Council Chamber. The other members of the Council also rose and filed out of the Chamber. Samus then went over and picked up the computer box that housed the mind and soul of Adam Malkovich and proceeded to exit the chamber, herself.

Once she exited the chamber, before going back to her "guest quarters" to pack up so she could leave, she went over to the external landing platform outside the main building of Galactic Federation Headquarters so she could plug Adam back into the computer of the gunship that the Federation had given her for her mission to the Biologic Space Labs research station. It was a purple ship whose wings snapped in half when landing, in order to function as landing pads. In addition, Samus boarded the ship by standing underneath of it and letting a series of ring beams pick her up and bring her onboard her ship. In addition, her new gunship was designed purely by the Galactic Federation. It had once been a prototype Striker-class Assault Gunship designed to attack capital starships, but Samus's ship was designed to carry more passengers and cargo than weapons. It was still formidable, though, with its twin Power Beam cannons, dual missile launchers, along with a missile bay that held up to six missiles per launcher. The missiles held within were of multiple types from anti-fighter to anti-capital ship grade missiles. Her ship was also outfitted with deflector shields that could withstand numerous strikes from anti-starfighter missiles and beam weapons before collapsing.

After boarding her gunship, she went over to the pilot's station. The console at the station had a large gray square that was missing. Samus placed Adam in the gray square and pushed until she heard a click. She then activated her gunship's computer and the screen lit up. "Is everything okay, Adam? Are you linking alright with the rest of my ship's systems?"

After a few seconds, Adam's mechanized voice responded, "Everything's fine on my end, Samus. No problems here."

Samus then ran a series of diagnostics on her gunship's computer to make certain that everything was okay. That was not merely Adam's personality that she had just reinstalled into her gunship, it was the real mind and soul of her former commanding officer, and a man who she had viewed as a father figure, even after she had left the Galactic Federation military and Police Force. The diagnostics soon came back and Samus read that all systems were functioning perfectly.

With that, Samus set her ship into standby mode and left it, going back to her "guest quarters" for the final time so she could pack up her few belongings and take them with her. After entering her quarters, the first thing she did was to get out of her orange jumpsuit and get into her Neo Zero Suit, a white sleeveless suit that had red markings on the back and on her chest. By merely thinking, or by pressing on the red markings on her chest, she could activate her Omega Fusion Suit, her current armored suit that was the result of extreme alterations to her Power Suit after Federation doctors had surgically removed pieces of her Power Suit from her body after she had been infected by X Parasites while escorting Biologic Space Labs researchers on a mission to SR388. Initially, its appearance was radically different from her normal Power Suit as a result of having Metroid cells injected into her body and taking hold. However, since her completion of the mission to the BSL research facility as well as her absorbing the Core-X of a fallen SA-X, her suit now had its standard orange color, but its form was still noticeably different. For one thing, it had a more organic than metallic look about it, even in its current, "Omega Fusion Suit" form. Second, it had three claw or spike-like protrusions on her free arm that resembled a Metroid's teeth. In addition, it also has three small purple spheres on the back reminiscent of a Metroid's internal nuclei, almost certainly a side-effect of the Metroid Vaccine that had been administered to Samus to cure her X infestation.

Samus then put on a white jacket over the Neo Zero Suit in order to maintain some modesty, but still wanting to have easy access to her Omega Suit should she have need of it. After that, she finished up with her packing. She did not have much else to pack away, only some civilian clothes and a hologram of her and her parents on her third birthday. Her own twenty-seventh birthday was close. She activated the hologram and stared at it mournfully. She wished that her parents could be with her physically to celebrate her next birthday with her, but she knew that they were watching down from Heaven. She then deactivated the hologram and packed it into her suitcase. Once she was finished packing, she took her single suitcase and exited her "guest quarters" for the last time.

Meanwhile, almost ten light-minutes away from Daiban, a small spacecraft, only about thirteen meters in length came out of warp and proceeded to make its way towards the planet. It was a boxy starship that only slightly resembled the regular Space Pirate Transports that were used during the Phazon Crisis. Onboard the ship were five Space Pirate Troopers, dressed in their standard battle armor, and one Elite Space Pirate, sitting in the pilot's seat. The pilot and co-pilot each stared down at their consoles and the Elite Space Pirate reported, "We're at the designated coordinates. Stealth mode is activated. It is highly doubtful that they'll pick us up unless they're using long-range gravitic sensors." Turning to his comrade to his right, he told the co-pilot, "Alright, begin scanning. We need a detailed layout of the defenses of the planet if this plan's gonna work. We'll only get one shot at this."

"Right, sir," the trooper to the Elite's right replied. "Beginning scan now."

The Pirate Trooper then activated the sensors and focused them on the planet and its orbit. Just then, a hologram formed of the planet and its orbital defenses in the middle of the cockpit console that the pilot and co-pilot occupied. Data soon popped up on the data screens at both the pilot and co-pilot's stations. The screens read, _Orbital Defensive Complement of Daiban: Three hundred Tartarus-class heavy defense platforms, fifty Olympus-class battleships, one hundred Asgard-class heavy cruisers, two hundred Midgard-class cruisers, three hundred Pixie-class light cruisers, three hundred Griffin-class frigates, and one thousand squadrons of Stiletto-class starfighters; each squadron numbering at least fifteen craft._

The hologram in the center of the console detailed the exact locations of the defense platforms, starships, and starfighter squadrons protecting Daiban. Each class of ship had its own marking, with a single fighter marking representing a whole squadron of fighters. The defenses were spread evenly across the entire planet, given that Daiban was a city world and held in excess of twenty-seven billion people. They could immediately tell that there was no hole in Daiban's defensive net. The only way to launch any surprise attack would be to jump a ship behind the defensive screen and fire off as many troop pods and transports as possible before the ship was shot to pieces by the orbital defenses turning back to face the ship. The pilot and co-pilot both gave whistles after seeing the orbital defenses of Daiban. "Okay, so whoever goes on this mission isn't coming back," the co-pilot commented after a few moments.

A couple Pirate Troopers looked over the shoulders of the pilot and co-pilot and gave whistles that echoed the ones given by the command crew. "Let's hope it's not us after we send this report back to Lord Ridley," one of the Pirate Troopers said, unable to hide his worry that they might be the ones who would "volunteer" for the mission.

"I wouldn't worry too much," the Elite responded, looking back at the two Pirates who had been looking over their shoulders, rather than doing their duties at their assigned posts, "unless you abandon your post because of your curiosity," the Pirate finished. "Besides, we have those new Zebesian Troopers from that secret Federation station in the void that we captured several months ago. Fire a pod or two past their orbital defenses and down to the planet, then we should be able to storm GFHQ and take out their leader, Elric, without a problem. Granted they'll soon die afterwards, but at least they'll be able to die knowing that they dealt a huge blow to the Galactic Federation." He then gave a sigh before saying, "At least, we know that the information we got from the Federation spy is legit. That means that the info we got on the surface defenses is also likely to be accurate, too."

"Let's hope so," the co-pilot echoed in response. "For as you said before, we're only gonna get one shot at this."

The pilot then looked back and bellowed, "Tactical, status! Did the Federation detect us?"

The Pirate at the tactical console glanced down at his data readings and after a few moments, looked up, responding, "Negative, sir. As of yet, we haven't been detected."

"Good," the Elite responded. "Then let's make our report to Lord Ridley."

He then eased the maneuvering thrusters so that their ship would back away from the planet, hopefully unseen. The stealth systems were the best of any ship, short of a vessel with an actual cloaking device, so the chances of being seen from a brief firing of the thrusters at this range was negligible.

The transport continued to back away from Daiban as it was scanned the area to see if anyone was taking any interest in their sector of Daiban's solar system. Once they figured that they were clear, the Elite maneuvered the ship so that it was pointing away from Daiban. He then put his hand to a lever and pulled it downward. The ship then jumped to warp, leaving Daiban behind, for now.

Back down on the planet, Samus was making her way back to her gunship. As she was walking, two familiar faces appeared from behind a wall inside a restaurant to her right. Her eyes flashed as she saw two of her best friends, Kreatz and Mauk emerge and give large grins. Kreatz, a member of Elric's species with short, black hair, standing at about six feet tall and wearing a trench coat, leapt over the wall and rushed towards Samus. When he arrived, he gave her a massive hug. "You did it!" he exclaimed. "You're free! I knew you wouldn't be found guilty! Mauk wasn't so sure, but I knew."

Mauk gave a kind smile and a shrug towards Kreatz. His shrug, however, indicated to Samus that it was Kreatz that was not certain about the eventual outcome, rather than him. Samus smiled at the sight of her friends and she let Kreatz hug her for a few seconds before trying to gently disengage herself from him.

Once she was free of Kreatz's embrace, Kreatz told her, "We've been waiting for you. We still have a space open if you want a good meal before leaving in search of a new bounty."

"Thank you," Samus responded. "I think I'll take you up on your offer." Samus then ducked inside of the small restaurant to eat a meal with her two best friends.

The waiter soon came by and took their orders. Samus ordered cooked Grouper, a fish from Earth, along with a soda. Kreatz and Mauk got more exotic dishes that had originated from different planets, likely their own. After the waiter had taken their orders, Mauk looked over at Samus and asked, "So, have you been keeping up with the news?"

"I have," Samus responded in a melancholy tone. "All channels," she added. "It doesn't look good at all."

"It's likely worse than you know," Mauk told her. "Earth came this close to seceding from the Federation after the BSL Incident and the tribunal that was going to be held against you and Adam." He then pinched his fingers close together to the point where they were almost touching. "Mars, too. The only reason Earth did not secede is because a lot of people on the Council rightly told them that the evidence is very damning towards Chairman Elric and that you would not be found guilty of preventing a disaster." That last sentence was directed towards Samus. "Right now, all of Sol is watching carefully to see how things turn out."

"Why would Earth secede, though?" Kreatz asked. "They must know that Elric's about to be impeached and likely convicted given the mountain of evidence against him for the development of those bioweapons on the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility 777_."

"Elric _will_ be impeached," Mauk stated flatly. "I have little doubt about that. However, a lot of officials don't want him to be since he'll likely expose their own dirty deeds and backroom deals in exchange for leniency from the other members of the Council. Elric has had his hands in a lot of pies, and he knows almost everything about the vast majority of the Council. Right now, a lot of Council Members are trying to get into Elric's good graces so that when he testifies, he won't expose their dirty laundry. In fact, the only reason he has little on Sol's representatives is the fact that Earth, Mars, and the colonies of Jupiter and Saturn have all but separated themselves entirely from the Federation and are seemingly the most honest of the politicians, as strange as it may seem. But there is another reason why Councilman Williams has waited this long to impeach Elric, and may still be hesitant to do so..."

"Cyrus Mann," Samus, answered for Mauk.

Mauk nodded. "Many on Earth believe that Cyrus had once been a criminal before becoming the Vice-Chairman of the Galactic Federation. They say that some on Earth even have direct evidence of this, but are being censored by Galactic Federation representatives on Earth. Some believe that he is using his position to do something on, or to, Earth, and that he has no real interest in the Galactic Federation in and of itself." Mauk sighed before adding, "Some have even said that Cyrus may have had a hand in the assassination of former Chairman Keaton."

"That I doubt," Kreatz blurted. "Cyrus may be many things, but I doubt that he would be able to pull off something like that. He just doesn't have the resources. He had no political power before becoming Vice-Chairman. In fact, he does not seem to have all that much history about him at all. In fact, there was a stretch of about a year or so where he had seemed to vanished entirely."

"I know," Mauk answered. "I don't think he helped Elric kill Keaton, but I do think that Earth believes he did. And that has many worried that, should something happen to Elric and Cyrus take over, there could be trouble."

With that thought, the others considered everything else that was happening in the Federation. So far, things were relatively quiet since the BSL Incident. There had not been any other Space Pirate attacks, though the search for the Space Pirates continued to this day. Samus then asked if anything else had been uncovered on planet Z-1A. The others shook their head. So far, they had only managed to uncover more details about the battle between the Chozo Alliance; an alliance of the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren, and Ylla, and a race known as the Magic Lords, or Dragon Lords as they were sometimes called. No other technology had been uncovered by subsequent digs. However, the archeologists were still searching to see if there were any more ruins. Samus also asked if there was any word on the search for Ridley. Both Kreatz and Mauk shook their heads.

It was not long before the meals arrived for the group. Once they had gotten the meals, Samus ate in silence as Kreatz and Mauk talked to each other about the orders that they had been given. They were discussing the fact that the Galactic Federation Police Force had been given a lot more power in recent months than they had originally had. Some in the Police Force were beginning to abuse their power, which had led to riots against some of the Police Force. Again, the new regulations regarding the new powers of the Police Force had not been implemented on Earth, though the Federation had yet to try to force Earth to implement the new policies. One thing Samus knew was that once the Federation went to try to force Earth to implement the news laws and give the Police Force their greater powers, and Earth resisted, then it could very well degenerate into a civil war. And there would be planets that sided with Earth, or at the very least declared neutrality in the conflict.

After a few minutes, Samus and the others finished their meals. After Kreatz and Mauk had paid the bill, refusing to let Samus pay any of it, despite her offer, the trio rose and departed the small restaurant. After they had left, Kreatz went over to Samus and told her, "Well, I'd better get going. I'm being ordered to Earth to help stem any potential insurrections on the planet. Some are saying that Earth may well secede from the Federation if it continues to try to jab its nose into Earth's business or something along those lines."

"I thought that Earth had the right to secede from the Federation if it had cause," Samus told him. She had been following the news and knew that Earth was dissatisfied with the Galactic Federation and had accused the Federation of turning away from what made it great. The people of Earth did not like that some of the liberties, such as the right to keep and bear arms, and even to peaceably assemble in certain circumstances, were being infringed upon by the Federation. While the motion had passed in the Council, the representatives of both Earth and Mars had rejected the motion and refused to implement it on their respective worlds. As a result, many citizens on Earth and Mars were arming themselves with multiple weapons, in case an emergency occurred. This had caused a great deal of friction between the Federation Council and the two planets, but the situation had not yet come to blows.

"Technically, they do," Mauk replied. "But still, the Federation wants to send a clear message of strength to the galaxy as well as the rest of its members. They want Earth to know that the Federation is stronger than a single world, regardless of its importance, and if they leave the Federation, they'll be on their own."

Kreatz gave a grin and said, "If all goes well, this will be an easy assignment. The people of Earth may be armed, but they are generally welcoming of visitors when said visitors are non-hostile. My only mission is to help keep the peace and protect the Federation envoy going to negotiate with Earth's government."

"And I'm going to be stationed on the _G.F.S. Zeus_ over Earth to help provide security the Federation officers on the planet," Mauk added. Samus could not help but notice that their tones were a little different, as if there was something that they were not telling her, particularly Kreatz. She decided not to press them on it yet, and she told them, "Thank you for the meal, you two. It was wonderful seeing you again."

"Same here, Samus," Mauk answered as each of them went their separate ways. As Kreatz and Mauk proceeded down to the assembly area for Police Officers and military personnel that were about to be deployed away from Daiban, Samus continued to make her way down to the landing pad that contained her gunship. As she walked, her thoughts returned to her conversation with Kreatz and Mauk and made a note to herself to read up more thoroughly on Earth's situation and its troubles with the Galactic Federation. Samus felt that the Federation and Earth were closer to a war than many others realized. And if Earth and the rest of Sol rebelled, the subsequent rebellion would make the Horus Rebellion look like a small brushfire.

On the former Federation _Space Lab_ _Moreau_, Ridley, a large, purple pterodactyl-like space dragon, stood on the Control Deck and waited for the report from the transport that he had dispatched to Daiban. Standing down on the lower level of the deck were over fifty Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers wearing red armor. These Zebesian Space Pirates had bird-like heads and claws over their arms. They were armed with power cannons and plasma missile launchers. For defense, they were equipped with deflector shield generators that rendered the standard assault rifle used by the Galactic Federation Army Troopers useless, though the pulse energy rifles used by Federation Marines were more than sufficient to penetrate their shields with only a couple hits. He thought back to the events of a couple of months ago on the BSL research station where a Space Pirate raiding party consisting of a couple dozen Zebesian Space Pirates that had originally been cloned and grown by the Galactic Federation forces on this station. These Pirates had been the lowest ranking of the Zebesian Troopers and had also shown themselves to be the least capable of the troopers, in Ridley's eyes. These Zebesians, however, were far different. These were some of the best Zebesian Troopers that he had seen of all save for some of the elite Ninja Zebesian Pirates that had protected his lair on Zebes.

Ridley then went down the stairs and headed down to examine the Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers himself. He walked among them and saw that their bodies were perfect and without blemish of any sort. He grinned. These Space Pirates were originally supposed to have been a Special Forces unit for the Galactic Federation. Under Ridley, they would help bring the Federation to its knees. They would attempt to assassinate the Federation Chairman, or at least make it look like they were going to assassinate the Chairman. Ridley had other plans.

Once he had finished examining the first squadron of troops, he stepped back and went onto the steps. He then spoke to them in a loud and clear voice, saying, "Elite Zebesian Troopers. You were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only. You have been created to be the best of the best for the Zebesian Space Pirates, as shown by your red armor. Now, my Super Zebesian Space Pirates, you will go on a mission of utmost importance. This is going to be a highly dangerous mission. Many of you will likely not return. In fact, chances are that none of you will do so. Your mission is to kill the Chairman of the Galactic Federation, and as many of the Council members as possible before you, yourselves, are killed. This will not be easy. You will infiltrate Galactic Federation Headquarters by drop pods deployed from the cloaked troop transport we have recently 'acquired', the _Putze_. From there, your mission is to kill anyone you encounter that isn't Space Pirate. Aside from the Chairman and potentially the Vice-Chairman, your primary targets are the human members of the Federation Council, particularly Earth's representative. Are there any questions?"

"What about the Hunter?" asked one of the Zebesians in the back row. "Are we to target her as well if she is still on Daiban?"

"Our spies indicate that she should not still be on Daiban by the time the attack is launched," Ridley answered. "And if she is, avoid contact with her at all costs until your primary objective is completed."

"But what if we have a shot at her?" another of the Zebesians asked.

"Then take it, but make certain that the shot is clear. You would only get one shot at her, and if you fail to take her out with that shot, she will kill you. Remember, you're outfitted to deal with Galactic Federation Army Troopers, not Samus. Don't take foolish risks on this mission. It may likely be a suicide mission, but it's going to be a mission where you still have your objectives. Killing may be the primary mission, but it's who you kill that is important, here."

"Understood," the others responded.

Ridley grinned and then made his way back up the stairs to the top deck. As he was moving up, a beep sounded and a light flashed on the communications and sensor consoles. A Space Pirate Trooper checked the console and upon reading the data, reported back to Ridley, saying, "Lord Ridley, I'm picking up something on sensors." After a pause, he called, "It's the transport. They've completed their mission and are sending us the data they've acquired."

After a few moments, the data appeared on the screens and Ridley examined it. He then told the trooper, "Transmit this data to the _Putze_. Make sure that all of the squad commanders get all of this data as well."

"Yes, Lord Ridley," the trooper responded and went about carrying out Ridley's orders.

Ridley then proceeded to leave the bridge and went over into his ready room. Once inside, he noticed a squadron of twelve Pirate Commandos waiting for him. He then told them, "The data has been sent. We've received not only the data with regard to Daiban's defenses, but also the data as to where Aurora Unit One is located. As you know, Aurora Unit One was the first Aurora Unit created by the Galactic Federation. Its DNA is the closest to the DNA of the original Mother Brain. In addition, it is also linked with each and every one of the other Aurora Units within the inner Galactic Federation colony worlds. The only main Federation world whose Aurora Units will not be affected is Earth, and that is because they used a different source of DNA for their few Aurora Units than Mother Brain, in addition to their Units being a little more mechanical than the others. That is besides the point, though." He then went over to a large desk and took out a small vial. "This vial contains a biological virus that also contains information that would allow our us to control Aurora Unit Zero from this station. You must inject it into Aurora Unit Zero directly. Also, get a sample of Aurora Unit Zero's DNA. We will then clone Aurora Unit Zero and use it to control other Aurora Units within the Galactic Federation. With our cloned Aurora Unit based upon Aurora Unit Zero, we should able to control almost all of the inner colonies' Aurora Units, as well as get the control codes for all of the Aurora Units as well should the Federation discover what we have done. With that control, we can send false orders to Galactic Federation starships and Marine units, which will grant us good opportunities to capture some Federation starships or raid various shipyards for some more starships, or, for Daiban, have Aurora Unit Zero destabilize the planet's core to the point where the planet could even explode. With Daiban destroyed, and many of the Federation Council Members dead, the Federation will be thrown into complete chaos." He then handed the vial to the leader of the Commandos.

"Understood, Lord Ridley," the leader of the Commandos said, taking the vial and saluting the dragon.

"It is also imperative that you get enough DNA for us to clone two Aurora Units based upon Aurora Unit Zero, for Aurora Unit Zero is a direct genetic clone of Mother Brain. We also intend to revive her, along with a number of other lost generals as well, which will require the assistance of Mother Brain, and a planet that we can settle for the time being."

"We understand," the Commando leader responded.

"You will be using a cloak capable transport to get yourselves down as close as you can to Aurora Unit One," Ridley explained. "I must reiterate; your one and only mission is to plant this virus inside of Aurora Unit One. Don't stop to kill anyone or have fun unless you need to in order to proceed uncontested, and unseen. I'll be coordinating the assault forces here, but the assassination attempt on Chairman Elric and the members of the Galactic Federation Council should divert all of the Federation's defenses away from Aurora Unit Zero, so hopefully you will only meet minimal resistance. Don't do anything that draws attention to yourselves until it's too late."

"Understood, Lord Ridley. When do we leave?" the lead Commando asked.

"Right now." Ridley answered. With that, the Pirate Commandos left Ridley's ready room. Ridley then followed suit and went back onto the Control Deck of the station so he could coordinate the joint assaults on Daiban.

Meanwhile, on planet Earth, Cyrus stood on the top of a mountaintop among a series tall stone pillars in the Sinnoh Region of Japan. He gazed at the pillars in awe. He was flanked by Charon and two Federation Police Officers. Charon looked over at him and said, "It's been a while since you were here, hasn't it, Cyrus."

Cyrus nodded. "Yes, it has. But soon, I'll be able to open a portal to the Distortion World once more. I will finally break its secrets and use it to create my ultimate universe: a universe without pain, suffering, or emotion. It won't be long, now. With Ridley about to launch his attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters, as well as infect Aurora Unit Zero with the virus developed on _Research Facility Moreau_, all will be in order. Many members of the Galactic Federation Council will die, with Elric filling in the vacant spots due to the damage done. He will escape any impeachment hearing and will declare martial law before anyone can organize a faction of the Council against him, even if Councilman Williams survives. From there, he'll start rounding up those who know of his sordid past, imprisoning them so that they can't testify against him. And with his people in power, there will be no one to officially contest him. He will then consolidate the Council's power to himself and make an Empire, with likely the sole source of resistance being Earth, and possibly the rest of Sol. From there, the Police and military will start abusing their newfound powers and anyone who does not tow the line will die. That will rally the cry against Elric and civil war will begin. Then, the Dark Original One will have no choice but to listen to the cries of a universe in anguish and fulfill my wishes."

"How do you intend to keep the others away from the Spear Pillar in the intervening months?" Charon asked. "Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion Cynthia and others are aware of your identity and know that you were the leader of Team Galactic. They'll suspect that something is up."

"That's where the Federation will come in," Cyrus explained with a grin. "Elric will use the attack on Aurora Unit Zero and the attempted assassination of Elric to justify declaring martial law across the entire Galactic Federation, including Earth. I will then tell Elric to leave Earth in my hands while he deals with the rest of the Federation. I'll then have the Federation Police Forces on Earth round up Cynthia and the other Pokémon League Champions, as well as the others who know my secret and incarcerate them, if not kill them outright."

"But Cynthia and the others won't come along quietly," Charon told him. "What happens if they manage to evade their capture attempts? They all know that you're the Galactic Federation's Vice-Chairman, as well as the former leader of Team Galactic."

"And there is little that they will be able to do to stop me once the Federation is in chaos," Cyrus replied. "I'll have the authority of the entire Galactic Federation behind me on this one."

"And what if the military or Police Forces don't go along with this? Or worse, what if the Space Pirates actually _are_ successful in killing Elric?" Charon asked.

"Heh, heh, heh," Cyrus chuckled. "Elric has done all the work for me. He has placed all of his allies in places of power. The losses of Chamolos, Drayka, and Eiden were devastating to his efforts in the government, but his allies in the military will still rally to my call, especially should Elric fall in the attack. After all, I know _all_ of their dark secrets." And with that, Cyrus continued to watch as more Federation Army Troopers came through the entrance to the cave and arrived to secure Spear Pillar. He had it now. All he had to do was wait until the anguish was unbearable in the galaxy to call upon the one who would grant him his greatest desire, his own universe.

A few thousand kilometers away from Daiban, two Space Pirate vessels emerged from warp and immediately cloaked, one a light troop transport that was designed to carry only a thousand or so troopers, another a small transport only capable of carrying a few dozen soldiers, and was not much larger than a gunship. The larger transport, the _Putze_, was carrying hundreds of Super Zebesian soldiers, though. Both ships captains hoped that their stealth systems would shield them from being detected before the cloak. They both examined the fleet movements and scanned to see if the defense platforms were locking onto them. So far, none of the defenses of Daiban appeared to have shown any signs of having detected the two cloaked Pirate vessels. Upon seeing that they were not, they slowly made their way towards the planet, and their two destinations, their occupants knowing that they were going to die, but that their deaths would strike a crippling, if not fatal, blow to the Galactic Federation.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Back on Daiban, Samus made her way over to her gunship. As she walked through the hall, she considered what she would do once she left. She had not had any recent job offers, mainly due to her questionable status as to whether or not she was a criminal, but she knew that there would be more offers in the future now that she had been cleared of any wrongdoing. She entered the landing bay and walked quickly towards her gunship. She was anxious to get off of Daiban and search for new jobs. She also wanted to check to see if her Metroid DNA had properly integrated itself into her own original DNA with the absorption of the SA-X's Core X into her system, like her Chozo DNA had at the age of three. She had experimented with this by spending time in cold areas and environments, but she had not tested her tolerance for cold once her Omega Suit had been activated, even though she had been able to fire the Ice Beam without a problem when dealing with the Omega Metroid on the BSL research station.

As she stepped out onto the landing pad, she looked up into the sky. She stared at the beautiful cloud formations in the sky and thought about K-2L and Zebes. As she was looking into the sky, though, a cloud formation broke apart, as if some invisible force was forcing its way through the formation, and her musing quickly vanished. She focused on the cloud formation that was breaking apart and knew the instant she saw it that it was not a natural occurrence. After a moment of thought, she figured that there was only one thing that could disrupt a cloud formation of that size in that way: a cloaked ship flying through the atmosphere. She immediately rushed over and boarded her gunship. She did not need to see a series of lights and outlines of gray metal to know that something bad was about to happen.

Upon boarding her starship, she immediately went to the computer and powered up her ship. Inside the main computer, the eye of Adam Malkovich activated and, upon seeing Samus in an almost frantic rush to activate the comm array, he asked, "What's wrong Samus?"

"We've got a cloaked vessel directly above Galactic Federation Headquarters," she answered. "I think it's launching an attack."

After a few moments, Adam replied, "Correction, they _are_ launching an attack."

The ground then rocked and Samus heard the explosions outside of her ship. The sound of screams and cries also assaulted her ears as the ground shook and more explosions sounded. Samus checked her sensors and saw that a capital starship had just appeared directly over Galactic Federation Headquarters. It was currently deploying drop pods, and firing energy blasts at the ground where known defensive cannons were stationed, providing covering fire for the deploying pods. The cannons went up in clouds of smoke, fire, and ash upon their meeting with the ship's blue energy bolts. Samus checked her sensors and identified the starship as a Galactic Federation troop transport, the _G.F.S. Putze_. It had already knocked out the defensive batteries for Galactic Federation Headquarters and drop pods were landing on the roof, penetrating the skin of Headquarters uncontested. For a fleeting second, she wondered why a Federation ship would be launching an attack against Federation Headquarters, but soon, her thoughts turned towards another, and far more likely, culprit. _Space Pirates_, Samus thought bitterly. Ever since Ridley had escaped her after the beating she gave him on planet Z-1A, she had wondered what they were doing. So far, no news of the Space Pirates had come, either over the media or through intelligence channels. X Parasites mimicking Zebesian Space Pirates had appeared on the BSL research station, but she had figured that they had been imitating infected Zebesian clones that had been developed by the Galactic Federation. Not wasting any time, Samus called into the radio, yelling, "This is Samus Aran to Daiban Control. Galactic Federation Headquarters and Federation City are under attack from the _G.F.S. Putze_, a Federation troopship! The starship is currently deploying troops on top of Galactic Federation Headquarters. We need assistance, immediately!"

A voice soon answered, "Understood. We have just detected the starship and beginning to mobilize defensive forces. We should arrive within ten minutes."

_Ten minutes_? Samus thought with shock. Unless there was a contingent of Marines and/or Army Troopers present inside Headquarters, the Pirates, or whoever was launching the attack, would have accomplished everything that they wished to in that time.

"Federation Headquarters won't hold out for ten minutes," Samus called into the radio. "We've got a capital ship hovering over Headquarters ready to blow it apart should the troopers they're deploying fail! Those troops and whatever other defenses you can muster are needed now!"

"We'll do what we can," the voice responded before the signal was cut.

Samus then activated her Omega Fusion Suit. A golden light surrounded her as the organic looking orange and yellow armor appeared over her body. She then looked over to Adam and told him, "Adam, keep a link open with my suit. Inform me of any changes, or any other signs of Pirates or whoever else is attacking."

"Understood, lady," Adam replied.

Samus then rushed out of her gunship and back into Galactic Federation Headquarters. Looking up into the sky once more, she witnessed the drop pods raining down upon Galactic Federation Headquarters, each pod seemingly appearing out of portals suspended a few hundred meters in the air. Samus used her visor's telescopic abilities to identify the lifeforms emerging from the pods. Just as she had thought, they were Space Pirate Troopers. A wave of energy arced near the portals and the large troop transport soon appeared. Just then, another volley of blue energy bolts rained down upon Federation City. These bolts were only anti-starfighter level bolts, though, and thus, only took out a single small building with each hit. Still, the weight of fire could add up fast. For a moment, she wondered why they had not fired on Galactic Federation Headquarters themselves. A couple volleys of bolts should have been enough to level the building and kill everyone inside. She soon saw scarlet lances of energy erupt from several defensive emplacements from inside Federation City. The lances struck the _Putze_ and a bluish energy screen flared into existence on the bottom of the vessel. The vessel had not lost its power yet, but she could tell that it was taking a beating, and had likely come to Daiban already having sustained damage during its capture.

The vessel then rose into the air and its engines began to glow. A feeling of horror entered her heart as she looked down at the crowded streets of Federation City. Many were beginning to hide in shacks and houses, but only the most sturdy of buildings would withstand the forces that were about to be unleashed upon the city, for the massive troopship was going to enter warp inside the atmosphere of the planet. Unlike most Space Pirate vessels, which went into warp not only through opening a window into subspace to fly through, their flight was often accompanied by a massive thrust from their engines. Fortunately, the Pirates were using a Galactic Federation ship to enter warp, but the effects would still be devastating, for a window would still open into the airless void of subspace, and anyone trapped outside, and structures of inferior construction quality, would be pushed into the window, or at least towards it, by the rush of air seeking to fill in the void.

Samus quickly dove back into Galactic Federation Headquarters, the door sliding shut and a small hiss sounding after the door closed, told Adam over her radio, "Adam, magnetize the ship's landing pads now! The Pirates are about to jump to warp inside the atmosphere!"

"Already done, Samus," Adam called back to her. "Samus, I'm detecting multiple Space Pirate signatures, hundreds of them."

"Where are they headed?"

"The Main Chamber of the Galactic Federation Council."

Samus then ran down the corridor and called out to the soldiers, Galactic Federation Army Troopers and Police Officers, "A Space Pirate assault force has just breached Galactic Federation Headquarters! Protect the Council members and the Chairman. Make sure that nothing gets past you. I'll try to intercept the Space Pirate assault force and thin out their numbers before they reach you."

"Yes, ma'am," the Army Troopers responded as they went to their posts and proceeded to stand guard near each council member's office. She was worried that they would not have the armaments to deal with the Pirates that managed to get through, though. Any Space Pirate that had shielded armor would easily be able to shrug off all but the most concentrated of weapons fire from the lightly armed troopers and Police Officers.

Outside, the building, the _Putze_ continued to rise until it was almost a kilometer into the sky. Just then, a portal opened in front of the ship. Air immediately rushed through the opening into subspace, the rush of air dragging all types of birds and other flying creatures into subspace, along with small, flimsy structures that housed the poor of Daiban, along with anyone who was not safely inside a more sturdy structure. Hundreds of people were pulled into the air and flew towards the portal, dragged along the currents of air. The _Putze_ slowly made its way into the portal, the captain of the ship looking down at the surface of Daiban in glee. He grinned at the sight of so many Federation citizens being dragged into the air, and into the airless subspace where they would likely freeze, and most definitely suffocate, to death. The captain laughed out loud at the sight, a sound that would have unnerved any civilized person, but did nothing to disturb the rest of the bridge crew. The captain made certain to crawl into the portal so he could drag as many Federation citizens into subspace with him as possible.

Outside, the ship still slowly made its way through the portal. By now, half of the ship had made its way into subspace, but the slow crawl was allowing more people to be dragged along with the ship, as well as some weaker structures. Other structures that were strong enough to not immediately be dragged into subspace, were nevertheless being strained by the constant rush of wind upwards. Some of the structures were beginning to have their roofs torn off, with the occupants of the structures sent flying. After a couple more minutes, though, the _Putze_ had finally fully entered the portal.

Once the ship was through, the portal closed and air rushed to fill the space that was now unoccupied, producing a clap in the process. Those still in the air, however, now found themselves suspended at various heights as the rush of air ceased, and gravity took over. People and materiel fell to the ground, inflicting more damage to the city, and killing more of its citizens. This event would almost certainly call the entire medical staff away from Galactic Federation Headquarters and to Federation City, itself. That would hopefully, in the Pirates' eyes, deny medical attention to any wounded Council members and security officers inside. In addition, it would also draw security away from the other ship that had gone to Daiban, and was tasked with carrying out the true objective of the mission.

On the far side of Federation City, a cloaked Space Pirate transport made its way down to an unoccupied area of the city. This area had not been affected by the _Putze's_ jump back into warp, but it was still devoid of any security forces due to the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters. The ship slowly descended to the ground, careful to not descend too quickly or draw attention to itself. Its cloaking device would prove problematic should there have been children at play, or a large crowd close by, for any bystander could then accidentally run into the ship and expose its existence. Still, due to the area being deserted, they were safe, for the moment. The ship soon touched down near a non-descript building and powered down all systems save for the cloaking device. The lead Commando then took out a device the size of a small, hand-held game and pressed a single button on it. A map immediately appeared on the screen. They were marked by green dots on the map, with their objective marked with a yellow dot a few buildings away in an underground area. The Pirates could not fault the Federation for keeping its most important Aurora Unit in an area like this. After all, the best way to protect something is to keep it in an area that's not likely to be traveled very often. They suspected that there were tunnels underground that would take them to and from the computer and the more respectable parts of Federation City. That did not concern them at the moment, though. The only focus of the Commandos was to make it to Aurora Unit Zero undetected. The doors to the cloaked transport soon opened, and the dozen Space Pirate Commandos soon filed out of the ship and proceeded to make their way towards their destination.

Inside Galactic Federation Headquarters, Samus made her way towards a console on the wall of the corridor and plugged her arm cannon into the computer. She was most fortunate that the console had a map of the entirety of Galactic Federation Headquarters, in addition to a scan of each and every lifeform inside. Samus downloaded the map and had her suit identify any and all known variations of Space Pirate in the building. They were soon identified, all of them being identified as Zebesian Space Pirates, and shown to still be confined to the upper levels. However, they looked to be making steady progress towards an elevator that would take them down to the Council members' level. Samus then went over towards an elevator that would take her to the lead force of Space Pirates. She boarded the elevator and waited as it took her up to Level Ninety-six where the Space Pirates were trying to board the elevators so they could reach the Federation Council members.

Upon reaching Level Ninety-six, the doors opened, revealing a hallway full of Zebesian Space Pirates. The bodies of several security officers also lined the corridor. Samus fired a series of green plasma beam blasts into the horde of Space Pirates. Several Zebesians fell to the initial volley, large, smoking holes burned into their chests by Samus's plasma fire, but the others retaliated by firing their own pulse cannons and a series of green plasma missiles at the bounty hunter. Knowing that her Fusion Suit's defenses were significantly weaker than her Varia or Gravity Suit, even in its Omega form, Samus did not stand there and let the blasts strike her. Instead, she weaved and dodged the incoming fire, only sustaining a few hits, which still took out most of an entire Energy Tank. Samus continued firing on the Zebesians and another six fell to the ground. Still, she could see more Zebesians flooding into the corridor, and streaming past her. Only a few members of each squadron stayed behind to stop her, and they were only doing so in order to allow the others to get past so they could likely make their way down to he main hall and attack the Federation Council members and kill as many of them as possible before dying. Knowing this, she activated her radio and called, "This is Samus Aran on Level Ninety-six of Galactic Federation Headquarters. There are too many of them for me to stop on my own and a lot of them are getting by. Mobilize everyone that you can. I think that the Pirates are targeting the Federation Council members."

"Understood," came the response.

Now it was Samus's job to ensure that as few Pirates managed to get past her as possible. She continued to fire blasts of plasma at the horde of Pirates, but each shot was only felling a single Pirate, while two or three managed to surge past her. Even worse, was that she was beginning to take a few hits as well, for she had already lost three of her Energy Tanks, and a fourth tank had nearly been depleted as well. She was really feeling the loss of the defense that her normal Power Suit had given her earlier. She decided that the best thing she could do was to try to take out or disable as many Pirates as she could as quickly as she could. To that end, she switched to her Ice Missiles and charged a missile. A bulge of icy blue energy formed at the end of her cannon as more Pirates flooded into the corridor. Once the Ice Missile was charged into the Diffusion Missile, Samus unleashed it upon the Zebesians. The missile erupted from her arm cannon and streaked towards the nearest Zebesian Space Pirate. The missile struck the Zebesian and exploded in a massive wave of frigid icy energy. The initial impact froze the Zebesian solid, but the detonation did not stop there. A wave of icy energy erupted from the center of the detonation and engulfed the entire squadron of Zebesians. At least twenty Zebesians were frozen by the Diffusion Missile. She wasted no time switching to her Power Beam and charging a single shot to shatter as many Space Pirates as possible.

Samus unleashed her first shot at the first frozen Pirate and shattered him. She then fired a Charged Shot at a second, then a third, and a fourth. She managed to shatter six Pirates before the others managed to thaw. Still, as they were beginning to thaw, Samus noticed more Zebesians approaching. She then charged another Diffusion Missile and unleashed it at the horde of approaching, and thawing, Pirates. Again, another wave of freezing energy washed over the Pirate forces and froze them solid. Right after the next wave was frozen, more Pirates arrived. Again, Samus unleashed another Diffusion Missile on them, and again, she froze the entire advancing horde.

After seeing that there were no other approaching Zebesians or other enemy forces, she went to work shattering the frozen Space Pirates so that they would not cause any more trouble later. Each Charged Shot took around two seconds to charge, and another second was used finding, targeting, and shattering a Pirate or group of Pirates. Samus did not hesitate to go up to the Pirates and shatter them with her fists and with kicks, or by tossing them into each other. She knew that she would shatter more of them that way, but that should they thaw fairly quickly, they would have an easier time managing to hit her with their own weapons, and she would have to work quickly to charge a Diffusion Missile since despite the return of her Ice Beam against the Omega Metroid, she was hesitant to use the beam again, since she had become far more sensitive to cold environments than before, due to the Metroid Vaccine. She suspected that the Metroid DNA might still be a little unstable and that it would not be a good idea to test her tolerance to the Ice Beam, at the moment.

Samus continued to shatter Space Pirates as those who remained intact started to thaw. She knew that she would have to use another Diffusion Missile to freeze them once more, but as she started to charge the missile, energy fire erupted from behind the Zebesians. Four frozen Zebesians were instantly shattered and four more of those that managed to thaw were shot in the back by orange energy projectiles. The Pirates turned around and found a squadron of six Galactic Federation Marines standing behind them, pumping energy fire into their ranks. Samus, seeing the effect of the Marines' fire, quickly backed away and switched once more to her Plasma Beam and opened fire on the remaining Pirates as well. Some tried to flee from the Marines and make it past the Hunter, only to be cut down by Samus. The others tried to face down the Marines, only to be slaughtered in the massive crossfire between Samus's Plasma Beam and the Marines' energy rifles. In less than ten seconds, the battle was over, with Samus and the Marines emerging victorious, and the Marines not suffering a single casualty.

"Is that all of them?" the Marine commander, a Major, asked Samus.

The bounty hunger shook her head. "A number of Pirates made it by me before you arrived. I'm almost certain that they're targeting the Council Members of the Federation."

"Alright, Samus, we're on it," the commander responded as he and the rest of his squad rushed towards one of the elevators and rode it down to the main level. Knowing that there was little more to do here, Samus followed the Marines, hoping that the Army Troopers down in the Main Hall were holding their own against any and all Zebesian Space Pirates that managed to make it that far.

Down in the Main Hall, squads of Federation Army Troopers and Police Officers were trying to deal with the numerous Zebesian Space Pirates that were attacking. The chambers of several Council Members had already been breached, and Council Members killed, by the Space Pirates. Other assembly areas had seen groups of Council Members assembling to talk about recent calls for more rapid military recruitment and the consolidation of power to the Chairman of the Federation. Many were opposed to that idea, not trusting Elric, but others were more open to it, for in Elric's proposal, the Council Members would have direct control over their territories, answering only to the Chairman, himself. These meetings had been unceremoniously interrupted by the Zebesians and many more Council Members had been cut down by the assaulting Space Pirates before they were either dealt with by the Federation Army Troopers, or moved on to hunt down other Council Members.

Some of the Council Members, however, had gotten wise to the Space Pirate attacks, despite the internal comm systems either not functioning or being jammed by the Pirates. Councilman Colin Williams and Madeline Powell were involved in a discussion with other representatives of Sol as to what to do should the Federation start trying harder to force them to carry out their edicts when the door to their chamber was shattered by an explosion and two Zebesian Space Pirates came sprinting through the door, looking for some sport. They got more than they bargained for when both Colin Williams and Madeline Powell drew their defensive side arms and opened fire on the two Pirates. Their first two energy blasts splashed against the shields of the Space Pirates, inflicting no damage to the Pirates. However, the humans did not stop firing there. They continued to fire and on the third shot, collapsed the shields of the Zebesians. Two more shots were all that were needed to fell them.

After the battle, seeing that it would be useless to stay in the room, they quickly went over and strapped two force field projectors to themselves and exited the room. Outside, the room, they saw the dead bodies of two Federation Army Troopers lying at the entrance. Colin knelt down and took the pulses of the two dead troopers. Seeing that there was no life in them, he picked up their guns and handed one of them to Madeline Powell. "We won't survive this by hiding. It's us they want," Colin told his colleague.

Madeline then took the gun and gave a confident grin. "Then let's take the fight to the Pirates," she replied. With that, the two of them then patrolled the corridor and assisted any troopers they found in fighting off the Space Pirates.

Samus rode the elevator back down to the Main Level of Galactic Federation Headquarters, hoping that she would reach the level and intercept the Zebesians that had managed to get past her before they had done too much damage. The seconds were slow as Samus rode the elevator down to the Main Level. After about twenty seconds, the doors opened and Samus and the Marines were greeted with a display of dead bodies, Federation Army and Police Trooper and Zebesian alike. She noted that the number of Federation dead vastly outnumbered the number of Zebesian dead. Samus and the Marines filed off of the elevator and proceeded to split up. The Marine squadron turned to their right while Samus turned left and proceeded to search for any Zebesians, as well as any survivors of the attack.

Not far into her search, she found Councilman Colin Williams and Councilwoman Madeline Powell huddled behind a makeshift barricade of steel crates, along with two aides and a Galactic Federation Army Trooper. A squadron of six Zebesians had them pinned down, and the Army Trooper's assault rifle, which merely fired physical bullets, was doing little to the shields of the Zebesian Troopers. The Zebesians were advancing on the position of the Council Members when Samus came onto the scene and immediately opened fire with a charged burst of plasma. The large green burst leapt from her arm cannon and struck the nearest Zebesian Space Pirate in the chest. The blast instantly overcame the Zebesian's shields and inflicted direct damage to the Pirate. The Zebesian was instantly vaporized by the attack, and the shields of his cohorts flared as well as he was annihilated by Samus's Plasma Beam. Samus then targeted the other Zebesians as they fired volley after volley of plasma missiles at her. Their missiles, however, were unguided and as such, Samus was able to dodge them with ease. The missiles sailed past her and detonated over a dozen meters away. She then fired two plasma blasts at each Pirate, one to take down the shields, and the other to kill the Pirate. Each fatal blast burned a massive hole into the chest of the unfortunate Zebesian, sending them tumbling backwards. After a few seconds, the battle was over.

Once the battle had ended, Samus went over to Williams and Powell and asked, "Is everyone alright?"

"We're fine," they both responded in unison. They then turned to their aides and to the Army Trooper and asked, "You all okay?"

The others nodded. "We're fine, sir and ma'am," they answered.

"We should get you back to your chambers," Samus suggested. "You'll be safest there."

"It's too late," Councilwoman Powell replied. "The chambers were first place the Pirates attacked. Many of us were taken off guard. Most of the Council Members that have not been killed have retreated into the Council Chamber. We know that Elric is in there with his Personal Guard."

"That's even worse," Colin Williams said. "There, the Pirates can herd all of their targets together. Their primary target is likely going to be Elric anyway. The Council Members inside are going to be cut down by the Pirates."

"I know," Madeline responded in a dour tone.

_Not if I can help it_, Samus thought harshly. A contingent of Marines soon approached and told Samus, "Ma'am, we have secured several of the Council Member's offices and chambers. However, there appears to be a large gathering of Pirates outside the Federation Council Chamber. Most of the Council present on Daiban has hidden in the Main Chamber."

Samus then directed, "Assign a detail protect Councilman Williams and Councilwoman Powell. I'm going to the Council Chamber and take some heat off of the Council Members."

The Marine commander nodded and assigned four Marines to guard Williams, Powell, and their aides. They also handed the Army Trooper a Freeze Gun, a large pistol that fired bursts of freezing energy almost as powerful as Samus's own Ice Beam. The Army Trooper gladly took the weapon and remained with Colin Williams and Madeline Powell as they went to search for safety and wait out the rest of the battle.

Samus then proceeded to make her way towards the Main Council Chamber. Along the way, she encountered small teams of two and sometimes three or four Zebesians, many of them blowing open entrances into the offices of Galactic Federation Council Members, some of them firing into the offices. Samus quickly cut down the Pirates before they could advance any farther in their mission. When Samus came across an open office or chamber, she quickly peered inside to see if it was occupied. All too often, she saw the dead body of a Federation Council Member lying on the floor. Some of them, however, were merely wounded and when Samus encountered one that was wounded, she called for medical help. She also took any first aid kits that the wounded may have had in their offices or chambers and gave the kits to them, only administering quick aid, for she knew that the longer she stayed inside one office, the greater the chances of a team of Zebesians managing to break into more offices and chambers and killing the occupants.

As Samus continued down the Main Hall, she encountered several more offices that had been broken into, as well as numerous teams of Zebesians Space Pirates. After killing the Zebesians and checking inside the offices and chambers, she found that Council Members inside were all dead. Many such offices held at least a dozen or so Council Members. She gave a dour look as she stared at the ground. At least two hundred Council Members were currently confirmed to have been killed, with countless more aides, Army, and Police Troopers. And that number was bound to rise. She vowed to make certain that no one else would die, except for Space Pirates. With that determination, she continued to make her way towards the chamber.

After a minute or so of walking, and taking down several more teams of Zebesians, she eventually made it to the Galactic Federation Council Main Chamber. Outside the chamber, a few teams of Zebesians were still exchanging fire with teams of Army Troopers and Federation Marines. Samus, however, quickly noticed that there were several doors that Space Pirates were flooding through with minimal resistance. A few energy bolts or bullets emerged from the door and struck a Zebesian, either bouncing off their shields or penetrating the shields and killing them. Samus, seeing that the Marines and Army Troopers were holding their own against the Pirates, went to the nearest door that had no Army support and opened fire on the Zebesians. Being taken by surprise, the Zebesians never stood a chance. Before the first of them turned to try to fend off their attacker, three had already fallen to Samus's opening attack. The others then proceeded to turn around and try to fire on Samus, two more Pirates falling before the remaining four Zebesians managed to get a few shots off. She managed to dodge several of the energy bolts and plasma missiles, but one of the plasma missiles managed to strike her, and exploded. That single hit managed to take off fifty units of energy from her current Energy Tank. Samus was unbothered by the enemy fire and systematically took down the remaining Zebesians. Once they were dead, she rushed into the chamber so she could clear it of any remaining Space Pirates.

Once she arrived inside the chamber, she witnessed the deaths of eleven alien Council Members who were ruthlessly gunned down by a quartet of Zebesian Space Pirates. Samus quickly avenged their deaths by firing numerous shots from her Plasma Beam at the Pirates. Green beams of energy erupted from her arm cannon and in four seconds, she had felled the four Zebesians. Before engaging the remaining Pirates, she surveyed the chamber. Too many dead aides and Council Members lay strewn about the room. Entire areas were covered by the remains of Federation Council Members, Army, Marine, and security troopers. Federation Army Troopers, Police Officers, and Marines stood by the entrances to the chamber, making certain to stem the tide of invading Zebesians, but there were Pirates entering the chamber from the mezzanine area, mowing down fleeing Council Members and aides in the process. Samus focused her attention on the mezzanine and jumped up to the deck, spinning around, unleashing a field of yellow energy, a trademark of her Screw Attack.

As she arrived on the mezzanine, she plowed through one of the attacking Zebesian Space Pirates, promptly annihilating the unfortunate Pirate. She soon landed and took shots at the approaching Pirates, being careful to use her normal Ice Missiles, rather than her Diffusion Missile, for fear of freezing any of the surviving Council Members trying to evacuate the mezzanine with the missile's blast radius. The blast radii were still sufficient for Samus to freeze two or three Pirates with each missile if they were bunched close together. As the Pirates attempted to flood into the mezzanine, she proceeded to choke the entrances with frozen Pirates. The other Pirates that tried to enter did the remainder of Samus's job for her as they shattered their frozen comrades so that they could enter the chamber and start killing. Unlike most of the Space Pirate Troopers, these Pirates did not run away or act frantically when engaging Samus, always yelling, "It's the Hunter!" when they encountered her. These Pirates were either silent, or gave roars as they opened fire on Samus. Samus could tell, though, that beyond their mission to kill everyone they came across, they were not all that intelligent. They merely fired indiscriminately towards Samus, not caring about who was in the way. Several Zebesians had been felled by friendly fire as they were willing to shoot through their comrades, firing pink, undulating beams similar to Samus's current style of Wave Beam. When these beams struck Samus, they took off fifty units of energy per hit. Samus then returned fire, quickly freezing the surviving Zebesians with Ice Missiles in order to choke the entrance once more. She was just about to charge a Charged Shot from her arm cannon when a missile came in from behind her, struck the lead Pirate, and detonated, shattering all of the remaining Pirates. Samus looked behind her and found a Federation Army Trooper coming up from behind, carrying a missile launcher, along with a plasma cannon and backpack strapped to his back. The visor of the Federation Army Trooper retracted and revealed the face of a black man, sporting a grin. Samus recognized the man all too well and gave him a smile from behind her helmet.

"Nice work, princess," Anthony said. "You don't mind that I cleaned up, do you? There are more Pirates coming in from the secondary entrance."

"Thanks Anthony," Samus responded as she rushed over to the secondary entrance to the mezzanine in order to intercept any Pirates that were trying to come in so they could have the high ground against the surviving members of the Federation Council.

Captain Anthony Higgs of Platoon 07 gave another grin and said, "You're welcome, Samus," as she rushed off to stem the flow of Pirates onto the mezzanine. Anthony soon rushed after her so they could finish off the remaining Pirates before heading back down to the main level of the chamber and helping his comrades fight back the remaining Zebesians.

Samus soon arrived at the secondary entrance and saw that slowly but surely, Space Pirates were managing to get through whatever defenses the entrance to the deck had in place. She switched to her Plasma Beam and charged it until a ball of green energy was surrounding the end of her cannon. She then fired at the lead Zebesian and instantly annihilated him with one blast. She then fired at a second, and a third. Three shots were sufficient to take down the Pirates, despite their defensive shielding. Evidently, the shields worn by these Zebesians were not at the same level as those worn by some of the others. Her fire was soon joined by Anthony's. The two of them soon turned the entrance into a no man's land, with any Pirate that dared to stick his face into the chamber, promptly having it blown off by the combined fire of the two soldiers. After a minute or so of Zebesians attempting to come through and use the mezzanine as a tactical location to snipe unwary Council Members, the flow of Pirates stopped, a mountain of Space Pirate corpses plugging the entrance. Samus did not stop to admire her work, or make small talk with Anthony, though. Once the threat in the mezzanine was dealt with, she immediately jumped back down to the lower level so she could assist the rest of the Army Troopers, Police Officers, and Marines in dealing with the remaining Zebesians.

On the lower level, Samus saw that the Federation forces were slowly driving back the Zebesians, but it was coming at a cost. She knew that without their ship, though, that there would be no escape for them. She figured that they were trying to regroup so that they could make another push against the Federation Council Members, those that were still alive, before they fell. Samus put an end to their plans as she charged the largest group of Space Pirates and fired a series of Ice Missiles at them. The missiles detonated and froze the entire group of Zebesians. The Federation Army Troopers then opened fire on the frozen Pirates with their assault rifles, their bullets tearing through the frozen Pirates and shattering the entire group. After a mere ten seconds, the fight was over.

As soon as the group of Zebesians had been taken down, she noticed that the rattle and whine of gunfire had ceased. She looked around at the various entrances to the chamber and found the bodies of numerous Zebesians piled up at the entrance. The troopers, both military and police alike, each looked over to his or her partners and comrades. Samus looked around the entire chamber and saw a large number of Council Members emerging from beneath their chairs, as well as Chairman Elric and the Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz. Samus, however, also noted the numerous members and aides that did not move from their cover once the fighting had stopped. Closer inspection would reveal that they had been shot full of holes by the attacking Zebesians. Samus also noticed a large number of dead Zebesians lying close to the overturned chairs and makeshift barricades that the Council Members were hiding behind. When all was said and done, close to two thousand Council Members had died inside the Main Chamber. And that was not counting those who had been killed in their own offices and chambers.

During the fighting inside Galactic Federation Headquarters, the Pirate Commandos made their way down into the bowels of the underground of Federation City, towards Aurora Unit Zero. So far, on their way, they had met no real resistance, only a few children, two human, one elf, and one simian-like child of Mauk's race, playing with water guns. The children were young, no older than ten Earth years old, with one of them being around seven or eight, with there being two females, one human, and the elf, and two males. From the looks of things, it was obvious that they were poor, though they had not let it show on their faces. They were acting as if they were part of elite fighting forces pitted against one another in the underbelly of the city. Their mission had been to soak the others with copious amounts of water without getting soaked, themselves. The Pirate hid from the sight of the playing children at the direction of the Commando leader. Once the children's game had taken them away from the Pirates' mission, one of the Commandos asked, "Why did you not authorize us to kill the children?"

"Our mission is to infect the Aurora Unit and take its DNA, not have fun," the leader responded. "The murders of the children would have drawn the attention of their parents and possibly the Police. Even poor children such as them sometimes have tracking devices implanted in them or on their clothing. We can't risk such an important mission failing because we can't stop ourselves from having some fun with Federation children."

That answer seemed to satisfy the other Commando, as well as the rest of the group. However, in the long run, it would not matter whether or not they had murdered the children or spared them. Most of the people on Daiban were already dead anyway, especially those trapped in the lower sublevels of the planet's cities. They just did not realize it yet.

The Pirates continued on their way, only encountering lowly maintenance workers along the way, who they promptly shot to pieces. After clearing the path, they entered a much larger corridor. The leader took out his map and spied the location of the Aurora Unit on it. He found that they were close, only a few rooms away. With that, they continued forward.

The next room contained nothing, and no one, of interest. The Pirates continued through the room not bothering to stop to look for anything of value. The next room merely contained a single technician, which the Commandos shot to pieces before he even noticed their presence. This drew an audible sigh from the Pirate that had come across the playing children not too far away. They then took one look at the other end of the room and saw the large set of doors that led to the Aurora Unit's chamber. The leader then pulled out a handheld scanner and pointed it at the doors. The display showed that there were four Army Troopers on the other side of the door armed with assault rifles and Freeze Guns, and over a dozen security personnel and technicians overseeing the Aurora Unit. The Commando leader was surprised to find no additional defenses protecting the Aurora Unit. The Pirate grinned. These troopers and security personnel would be no problem, and without any additional defenses, infecting the Aurora Unit with the virus, as well as extracting enough of its DNA to create two clones of it, would be easy. Even better, with the defenses as weak as they were, chances were that the security breach would not be detected until it was too late. The Pirate Commando leader then approached the door. The Pirate then armed his grenade launcher, which had been retrofitted with heavy explosive grenades, and fired it at the door. The grenade streaked from the launcher on the Pirate's right shoulder and struck the door, blowing the door inward.

Inside Aurora Unit Zero's chamber, the explosion of the door propelled shrapnel into a technician and security officer, felling them instantly. The Pirates then stormed through the entrance while the Army Troopers unslung their assault rifles and opened fire on the Commandos. Their bullets, however, were ineffective against the heavy shielding of the Pirates and bounced off of their shields, inflicting no damage to the Pirates or their shields. The Pirate Commandos casually leveled their guns at the four Army Troopers and opened fire before the Army Troopers had the chance to drop their assault rifles and draw their Freeze Guns. In less than a second, all four Army Troopers were dead, literally shot to pieces by the Commandos. The security officers and technicians attending to the Aurora Unit fared even worse. Even though the security officers had energy pistols, the firepower of the pistols was woefully inadequate against the shielding of the Pirate Commandos. The energy bolts struck the energy shields but failed to inflict even the slightest bit of damage upon them. The same could not be said of the Commandos' energy bolts upon connecting with the security officers and technicians. The golden energy bolts burned through the torsos of the security officers and the technicians, felling them instantly. In a few seconds, the battle, if it could be called such, was over.

Once the fighting had ended, the Pirate Commando leader approached the Aurora Unit, a semi-organic brain that was suspended behind a force field. He was flanked by two other Pirate Commandos as he approached. The others took up positions around the room, securing it against any unexpected intruders. The Aurora Unit turned to face the Pirate Commandos and activated its vocalizers, yelling, "Intrud…" but it was stopped before it could finish its first word, for one of the Pirate Commandos had gone over to its control console managed to deactivate its vocalizers. After typing in a few more commands, the defensive screen protecting the brain shut down and the Pirate Commando leader approached the brain. His first order of business was to take a needle and stab it into the neuron and gray matter mass that was the Aurora Unit. After stabbing the brain, he drew the DNA of the Unit into a vial. Once he had obtained enough DNA to clone the Aurora Unit twice, the Pirate Commander pushed a second needle connected to a vial into the Unit. Once the needle had penetrated he gray matter and neuron mass of the brain, he injected the virus into the Aurora Unit. Immediately, the Aurora Unit became docile, as if it were awaiting instructions. The Space Pirate Commando grinned. His job was finished. "Alright everyone," he called. "Job's done. Let's move out. Once we get to the ship, we'll give the signal to Lord Ridley."

The Pirate Commando at the control console and raised the defensive field over the Unit once more. The other Pirate Commandos then went over and took the bodies of the fallen Army Troopers, security officers, and technicians and dumped them into an acid vat, disintegrating their bodies. Once the bodies had been disposed of, the Pirates then filed out of the room and made an uneventful trip back to their cloaked vessel.

Once they made it back to their vessel, the Commandos checked to make sure that there was no one within sight of them. Once they knew that the area was deserted, the Pirate Commando pushed a button on his arm cannon. The door to the cloaked transport immediately opened, a single light appearing in the middle of the street they were on, and a ramp extending down to the ground. The Pirates quickly filed back onboard their vessel and once they were onboard, they closed the hatch. The cloaked ship then took off from the ground and ascended through the atmosphere as quickly as possible. They did not worry about being detected too much, for the Federation was likely too distracted by the assassination attempt on Chairman Elric and the rest of the Federation Council. Once they had breached the atmosphere, the Pirate Commando leader opened a channel to Space Station _Moreau_ and said, "Mission accomplished, Lord Ridley. We have it, and we did it." The leader did not want the Federation to know what they had accomplished on the off chance that they had managed to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Good work, Commando P'Karn," the voice of Ridley crackled in over the radio. "Return to base, immediately."

"Roger that," P'Karn replied.

With that, P'Karn cut the channel and began to plot the warp jump back to Space Station _Moreau_. After the Pirate Commando leader had plotted the warp jump, the transport jumped to warp, the twelve Commandos the only survivors of the Space Pirates' mission to Daiban. However, the damage they left in their wake would cripple the Federation, if not strike its deathblow.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Inside Galactic Federation Headquarters on Daiban, Samus and the other survivors inside the Council Chamber took an official headcount. So far, there were two thousand Council Members inside the Council Chamber who were confirmed to have died, with hundreds more having been wounded, some of them fatally. In addition, countless aides, Army Troopers, and security officers had also been killed during the attack as well. Samus gazed around the carnage that had been wrought on the Council Chamber of the Galactic Federation Council. Too many bodies lined the floors and chairs. The groans and cries of the wounded and dying still echoed throughout the chamber. Countless medical personnel soon flooded into the chamber in order to try to stabilize and save as many of the wounded as possible. First priority went to the wounded Council Members, then the Army and security forces, and finally, the aides. Samus, not being much of a medic and seeing that the surviving Army Troopers and Marines would be more than sufficient to protect the medical personnel attending to the wounded, made her way out of the chamber and back into the Main Hall.

Inside the Main Hall, Samus found her friends Kreatz and Mauk rushing towards the Council Chamber. When they saw Samus stepping out, they skidded to a halt in front of her. Kreatz then rushed up and exclaimed, "Samus, thank the powers you're alright."

Samus looked glumly at the ground at his statement. Mauk noticed Samus's expression and asked, "What is it?"

She answered, "The Federation Council Chamber was hit, hard. So far, we've confirmed at least two thousand Council Members dead so far. And that's not including the aides and military and security personnel that were killed in the attack."

"By God!" Mauk exclaimed. "That's one-fifth of the entire Council! How's Chairman Elric?"

"He's fine," Samus answered. "And Cyrus, as you know, is off-world, along with a few of his loyal supporters."

"What about Councilman Colin Williams of Earth and Councilwoman Madeline Powell of Mars?" Kreatz asked.

"They were fine the last time I checked," Samus responded.

Kreatz gave a shrug. Samus could not help but wonder if that shrug was a shrug of indifference or a shrug of disappointment at the survival of the two Council Members. Mauk also noticed Kreatz's shrug and glowered at him, very subtly shaking his head, but it was not enough to escape Samus's notice. Samus then remembered their talk shortly before the attack by the Space Pirates and wondered what was going on. They had almost seemed as if Earth was being unreasonable in its will to defect from the Federation. Maybe it was, maybe it was not. No one was pleased at the revelations of the bioweapon projects produced onboard the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility 777_. Many were even angrier at the production of a clone of Samus Aran, a project that had been commissioned by Chairman Elric of the Galactic Federation directly. Despite having Pokémon Trainers and battle leagues, a profession that was currently undergoing a lot of scrutiny on Earth, Earth was a planet that had a strong respect for life in all of its forms, having learned the hard way that a lack of respect for life can, and does, have severe consequences. Samus shook off the thought. She still had a job to finish. She then told Kreatz and Mauk, "I'm going to patrol the Main Hall and the rest of Headquarters for any Space Pirate stragglers."

"We'll come with you," Mauk offered.

Samus smiled and said, "Then let's go."

"And let's hope we got them all," Kreatz exclaimed, finishing for Samus. The group then proceeded on their way.

In the void between stars, Ridley sat in his chair on the Control Deck of Space Station _Moreau_. Space Pirate Troopers worked diligently at their stations, waiting for word of the arrival of the Space Pirate Commando Transport. The _Putze_ had already arrived back at the station and was currently undergoing refueling. The captain had reported that their part of the mission was a complete success. They had also received word that the Space Pirate Commandos had infiltrated Federation City, obtained the Aurora Unit's DNA, and had infected the Unit. They were due to return shortly. While Ridley could have used the station's computer to spy on the Federation and take direct control of Aurora Unit Zero the second the report had been given, he wished to ensure that he had the Unit's DNA in his hands before he activated Aurora Unit Zero and gave it its first, and last, command.

Outside the station, a subspace window opened and remained stationary for a few seconds before disappearing. After the window disappeared, a transport appeared before the station. On the Control Deck, the Space Pirate Trooper manning the sensor console said, "It's ours, sir. I'm scanning twelve Commandos onboard."

After the Trooper had finished, a comm channel was opened to the station. The Commando leader's voice came in over the radio, saying, "Mission accomplished, Lord Ridley. Requesting landing clearance."

Ridley approached the communications console and replied, "Clearance granted. Once you land, P'Karn, meet me on the Control Deck. And bring the vial with you."

"Understood, sir," P'Karn replied.

The transport then proceeded to make its way into the hangar bay. The interior of the bay was filled with other transports, mostly hyper-light transports that could carry a couple non-FTL drone fighters under their wings. The transports were also, themselves, armed, but mostly so that they could survive long enough to deploy their starfighters. The transport eased its way into the bay and searched for a place to land. Once it had found an empty space to land, the transport slowly descended to the floor. After a few seconds, a shudder reverberated throughout the transport as it touched down onto the hangar bay deck. The pilot then powered down all of the systems and opened the egress hatch.

The dozen Space Pirate Commandos that made up the complement of the transport filed off the ship and eleven of them then went to their separate stations so they could fill out their reports on the mission. P'Karn, however, made his way through the station and headed towards the Command Deck. The station was large, almost as large as facilities like the _Bottle Ship_, _Research Facility 777_, and the BSL research facility. Without the need to create artificial environments for research purposes, most of this station looked very plain, though anyplace that was not the Control Deck, Main Engineering, crew quarters, or the hangar bay was lined with numerous cloning tanks. Ridley had already fully matured the first batch of Zebesians that the Federation had evidently been intending to grow here and use for their own purposes. With these Zebesians out and about, Ridley went about cloning more important, and competent, forces. Now, Space Pirate Troopers and Elite Pirates were currently being cloned in the chambers. Unlike the Zebesians, these Pirates were independent enough to not wander aimlessly focusing only on a single mission should their leader get him or herself killed, the way Zebesians had an annoying habit of doing. However, Ridley and the other Pirate leaders did not forget that the Zebesians had their own uses as well. They made great suicide troops, as evidenced by the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters, something that would not have been possible before, given the fact that the Hunter had whittled their numbers down to almost nothing on numerous missions. Still, Ridley knew that they had only accomplished one part of their objective. Now, it was time to get the DNA that could let them clone Aurora Unit Zero. With their own Aurora Unit, they would be able to acquire the necessary starships for making the Space Pirates a force to be reckoned with once more.

It was not long before P'Karn arrived on the Command Deck. He entered through a door on the lower level of the deck and looked around at the Space Pirate Troopers attending their duty stations. There were few Space Pirates on the Command Deck, since they were working on a station, rather than a starship and, thus, had fewer systems to work with. P'Karn could not help but feel a little naked on this station. It did not even have any defensive weapons, only shields. And Ridley had not wanted to strip any of the Pirates' remaining transports, or their sole remaining frigate, of their weapons just to give this station some form of defense. Besides, if the Federation _did_ somehow find them, the station would not last five minutes against a fleet of Federation warships, no matter what weapons they took off of their other ships and placed on the station. Secrecy and location was the _Moreau's_ best defense, that and the squadrons of starfighters and drone fighters that the station carried. Still, they would likely fall to any ship stronger than a cruiser.

P'Karn soon turned and went up a staircase that took him to the Upper Command Deck. On the Upper Command Deck, Ridley sat in a chair specifically designed to fit his incredible bulk. When Ridley saw the Space Pirate Commando approach, he gave a grin and a soft rumble. The Commando approached the pterodactyl-like space dragon and once he was a few feet away, he genuflected before Ridley. Ridley rose and said, "Do you have it?"

P'Karn soon produced the vial that was full of Aurora Unit Zero's DNA and presented it to Ridley. Ridley took the vial from the Space Pirate and said, "Good work, Commander P'Karn."

P'Karn did not know what Ridley meant, for he was merely a Commando. "My Lord?" he asked, puzzled at what Ridley was getting at.

"Due to the success of your mission, and without having suffered a single casualty in the process, I am promoting you to Commander," Ridley responded, standing up and spreading his wings. "Go and change into your new armor. You are now second in command, here," Ridley exclaimed, pointing at P'Karn.

P'Karn was shocked, and also humbled by the honor that Ridley had bestowed on him. "Yes, my Lord," he managed to stammer as he rose and left the bridge so that he could outfit himself in the best armor a Space Pirate had access to. He was now going to be the strongest of the Space Pirate survivors, barring Ridley.

Once P'Karn had left the bridge, Ridley smiled. P'Karn was strong, smart, and loyal. He needed to have more troops like him in his army. Still, P'Karn was just one soldier. What he had now was a way to coordinate them and gain other assets, such as starships, for he knew that the Federation would not take long to begin searching for him. He needed to have them worry about other things at the moment, for he knew that it would not be long before Elric declared the formation of a new Empire in place of the Federation. Elric was power hungry, but he ultimately did what he did because he wanted the galaxy to prosper. He merely believed that it would be most prosperous with him at the head, and in the form of a dictatorial, make that benevolent dictatorial Empire, rather than a democratic Federation.

Ridley went over to the communications console and linked the station's computer to Aurora Unit Zero. Over the radio, he heard the crackle of many voices, all speaking at once. He was able to make out that there were at least two thousand dead Federation Council Members in the Main Council Chamber alone, with that number likely to rise quickly. The space dragon grinned. That was almost a fifth of the entire Council Membership, though Ridley knew that not all of the permanent members of the Galactic Federation had membership on the Federation Council. After all, of the greater than one hundred and forty thousand permanent members and colonies of the Galactic Federation, only around ten thousand of them had seats on the Galactic Federation Council. And the casualty reports were still coming in. Yes, there were many members that did not have their seats on the Galactic Federation Council, but that was not important to Ridley at the moment. Ridley knew that with this travesty, the Federation would grant Chairman Elric emergency powers, and he would likely fill in the vacant seats directly, if he filled them at all. This would anger some of the members of the Galactic Federation, particularly Earth, which was a strong and self-sufficient planet, with defenses that put even Daiban's to shame. This strength would likely attract many of Daiban's refugees to the planet, putting a strain on its resources. In addition, due to Earth's ability to grow food and relatively small on-world population, he expected that Earth would be ordered by the Federation to grow and produce food for many others in the Federation once his own Aurora Unit took direct control of many other Aurora Units in the Federation and used the Auroras to send back false readings on food safety, with Earth being one of the few planets whose Aurora Units would be unaffected. Ridley could only hope that these events would cause Earth to secede from the Federation. For then, a large contingent of the Federation would try to force Earth to remain, which it would not, for the humans of Earth are fiercely independent individuals, and the situation would eventually degenerate into a civil war, one which could very well shatter the entire Federation. Now, all he had to worry about was why Cyrus had been so willing to talk to him and give him the _Putze_ and tell him about Daiban's defenses and give him the override codes for Aurora Unit Zero. He did not worry about it, though. If Cyrus tried to double-cross him, he still had his trump card, a record of all of Cyrus's misdeeds and actions, both as Vice-Chairman of the Galactic Federation, and as the leader of Team Galactic.

Once the Space Dragon was done his musing, he punched in a command and brought up all of the command codes for Aurora Unit Zero. He then downloaded them to a crystal that he would use once he made his own Aurora Unit Zero. After that was finished, he typed in another command into the computer, and to Aurora Unit Zero. He then flashed a grin as he pressed _send_. He then left the bridge, a disturbing laugh emerging from his beak, and reverberating throughout the entire Command Deck of the station, for he knew that Daiban had seen its last sunrise. If all went well, then twenty-seven billion people were about to die, for he had ordered Aurora Unit Zero to take complete control of the weather and planetary controls. With Aurora Unit Zero already having been plugged into the planet to use it as a power source, it would be easy to destabilize the core and render the planet uninhabitable, or destroy it outright.

Back on Earth, Cyrus went over to a tent which held a computer and subspace radio. He entered the deserted tent and listened to the reports coming in over the radio and merely looked down, expressionless, even though his dreams were coming closer and closer to fruition. So far, the Federation reported that no less than two thousand members of the Galactic Federation Council had been slain in the Space Pirates' attack on Daiban. It was also noted that there were thousands of other casualties as well, Army Troopers, security officers, Marines, aides, etcetera. He knew that it would not be long now. The suffering of the galaxy was growing. And with no reports on the condition of Aurora Unit Zero, Cyrus suspected that the Space Pirate Commandos had been successful in their mission, and that things were about to get worse, much worse.

"Well, well, well," Charon's voice echoed from behind. Cyrus turned and found his short cohort standing behind him. "It seems as if it is all beginning, now."

"Yes," Cyrus said in a stern voice. "It won't be long now. Daiban will soon be destroyed, and there will be billions of refugees, and billions more dead. The galaxy's suffering will overflow and the only way to repair the damage will be to create a new universe free of suffering, free of emotion, which only brings suffering. Soon, everything will be reset to zero."

"Yes it will," Charon replied calmly, though Cyrus could hear a note of anticipation in Charon's voice. The two then waited in the tent to hear news of the destruction of Daiban.

Back on Daiban, Samus helped patrol the hallway, searching for any wounded that escaped initial notice by the doctors and medics that had come to Galactic Federation Headquarters to assist in treating the wounded. She knew that things were looking grim, for she had found at least one hundred and sixty more Council Members dead in the hallways. The doors to the offices and chambers of others had been destroyed as well. So far, she had managed to spot at least a hundred more Council Members wounded by the Space Pirates. As it was right now, things were looking quite grim for everyone. So far, there had been twenty-six hundred members of the Galactic Federation Council that were confirmed to have been killed in the attack. That was more than a quarter of the Council, and reports were still coming in. She stared down at the ground. The Space Pirates had planned this attack perfectly. It had come at a time when almost the entire Galactic Federation Council had been assembled at Headquarters.

Kreatz and Mauk gazed at Samus and could tell what was going through her mind. She felt as if she had failed the galaxy in this battle. She had not seen an attack like this coming. And it had been perpetrated by an organization that was once believed to have been wiped out, and had been thought to be on the verge of complete destruction. It was then that Anthony Higgs and a member of Platoon 07 came up to Samus and asked, "Hey Samus, does that suit of yours still have its Scan Visor?"

Samus looked up at Anthony and said, "It does, but it's not nearly as powerful or versatile as the one I had before I was infected by the X Parasites. Why?"

"Because I was hoping that you could verify my scans," Anthony's companion, a female Army Trooper who Samus recognized as Damara Gomez due to her voice. "I and two others took a scan of one of the dead Zebesian Space Pirates and found genetic markers that indicated that they were products of Galactic Federation genetic engineering."

"Galactic Federation?" Kreatz and Mauk gasped before Samus could respond, their eyes flashing with shock. Even Samus was surprised by the revelation "But how did they get a hold of Federation bred Zebesians? The _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven_ were destroyed!"

"Yeah, we know," Anthony replied.

"The Federation must have had another station where they bred these warriors," Samus surmised. "Either that or Ridley managed to get a hold of the Federation blueprints for their genetic engineering technology. It's definitely something that the Space Pirates would want to get their hands on."

The others nodded in agreement. It was not widely publicized, but the Federation's genetic engineering ability actually surpassed that of the Space Pirates'. One of their greatest, albeit illegal, achievements was to engineer a Metroid that was highly resistant to freezing. It was even likely that some were designed that were actually unfreezable, but they had been destroyed before they had been able to be deployed by MB. Samus looked at the detached hand of a Zebesian Space Pirate, the DNA sample that Damara Gomez was holding.

"We can take this down to Aurora Unit Zero," Samus suggested. "Its scanners are undoubtedly more powerful than ours, and it can likely confirm your suspicions. And if this Zebesian _is_ Galactic Federation in design, that will likely make finding its home base much easier."

"Assuming that the Space Pirates are using this Pirate's birthplace as their home base," Kreatz interjected.

"Should this suspicion pan out, it'll be the best lead we have," Samus replied.

"You go down to Aurora Unit Zero," Anthony told her, handing her the hand of the Zebesian. "We're still needed here to help clean up the mess and deal with any Space Pirate stragglers. Besides, we've gotten some reports of some strange sightings from some kids who were playin' a little too close to the Aurora Unit's chamber."

"I'll check it out," Samus replied. "And I'll see if there's anything wrong with Aurora Unit Zero as well."

"That wouldn't hurt," Anthony replied.

Samus then hurried away from the scene as Anthony, Damara, Kreatz, and Mauk continued to patrol the Main Hall and secure it from any potential Space Pirate stragglers or looters that may have been trying to take advantage of the situation.

Samus rushed towards the landing pad outside and activated her radio said, "Adam, power up the ship. We're going down to the bowels of Federation City."

"Understood, lady," Adam replied over the radio.

Samus soon arrived on the landing platform and made her way over to her gunship. The lower hatch opened and Samus stood beneath the opening. Tractor rings immediately pulled her into the ship and the hatch closed underneath her feet. She went into the cockpit and input the target coordinates to the building that was directly above the chamber of Aurora Unit Zero. Adam noticed that Samus had the hand of a Space Pirate and said, "I see that you hold the hand of a Zebesian Space Pirate."

Samus nodded.

"I can already confirm that the genetic markers indicate that it was genetically engineered using Galactic Federation technology," Adam continued.

Samus shrugged. She had suspected as much. "So may I ask why we are going down to Aurora Unit Zero?"

"We need to prove it," Samus replied. "And Aurora Unit Zero may know the location of this Space Pirate's birthplace, especially if he was bred on a Galactic Federation facility."

"I see," Adam replied. "Be careful, Samus. I have detected some changes in Daiban's core."

This revelation took Samus by surprise. "What sort of changes?"

"Nothing severe, yet," Adam answered. "But there has been a minor pressure buildup in the core of the planet that seems out of the ordinary."

_Oh no_, Samus thought. She quickly examined his findings and found that the minor pressure buildup was still far from being dangerous. Still, she did not like the looks of it. "Thanks for the heads up," Samus said as she lifted her ship off the ground and proceeded to fly it into Federation City.

The flight into Federation City to a spot close to the Federation Computer Archives Building that could hold her small gunship was quite short. Within two minutes of flying at relatively low speeds, she found the building and slowly eased her gunship down to the surface of the planet. After a few seconds of descent, her ship touched down on the ground, sending a vibration throughout the cabin of her ship. Before departing her ship, Samus asked Adam, "Adam, are there any strange signals coming from Aurora Unit Zero's chamber?"

The eye on the computer that represented Adam Malkovich flashed for a few moments before responding, "Lady, I am receiving no signals from Aurora Unit Zero at all. It has cut itself off from the rest of the Galactic Federation Aurora Unit Network."

This did not sound good. Suddenly, Samus was thankful that she had decided to check on the Aurora Unit anyway. "Adam, keep the ship warm," she told him. "We may need to get out of here fast."

"Understood, Samus," Adam responded as Samus disembarked from her ship. Once she was outside, she quickly made her way towards the Federation Computer Archives Building. Once she arrived at the building, she proceeded to push open the doors and enter.

The interior of the building was completely deserted. This building had not been in use for a very long time, which was why it was the perfect cover for the pathway that led to Aurora Unit Zero, the most important Aurora Unit in the entire Galactic Federation, for the Aurora Unit had its DNA based upon Mother Brain, and had all of Mother Brain's information as well, minus her personality. Ever since Mother Brain had gone rogue, technicians had carefully monitored Aurora Unit Zero to make sure that it, too, did not go rogue and become like Mother Brain. So far, in the last thirteen years, there had been no problems.

Samus made her way towards a side door and entered. On the other side of the door, she found a stairwell that led down into the tunnels that led down to Aurora Unit Zero's chamber. As Samus descended, she felt intermittent rumblings coming from below. She activated her Scan Visor, but could detect no lifeforms down in the tunnels. She continued to walk for a couple minutes until she came to the door that led to the tunnel network that would take her to Aurora Unit Zero's chamber. She grabbed the handle, pulled down on it and pushed the door open.

The tunnels were dark, but Samus's suit allowed her to see even in the dark. The walls looked to be gray and there was little space in this tunnel. She knew that the space would increase as she went further down into the tunnels. Samus continued to walk and follow the path that led to the Aurora Unit's chamber, finding nothing out of the ordinary. However, midway through her journey, she felt a violent quake. The ceiling began to crack, as did the floor. Rats and rat-like creatures scurried to find cover in the shaking. Even Samus had difficulty maintaining her footing. After a few seconds the shaking stopped. She then heard Adam's voice over her speakers, "Samus, I'm detecting a noticeable increase in seismic activity in your area."

"I felt it, Adam," the bounty hunter replied.

"Samus, this area has no active fault lines, and has had no groundquakes for over two hundred years."

Samus then hurried her pace down to the Aurora Unit's chamber, for she knew that there were only a few things that could cause this type of seismic activity on Daiban. She knew that Aurora Unit Zero had been plugged into Daiban's core at the time it was built, much like Mother Brain had with Zebes. It was Aurora Unit Zero that had allowed Daiban to have perfect weather for visitors, and others. Similar things had been done to worlds that had been transformed into pleasure worlds after the success on Daiban. However, there was always the danger that should an Aurora Unit ever be taken over, that the Unit could create havoc with the planet's weather. Not only that, but the Unit could create tremendous seismic disturbances, or even cause the planet to self-destruct. In essence, Mother Brain had done something similar to Zebes upon her death, though she had been aided then by the use of several time bombs to further destabilize Zebes's already unstable core and destroy the planet. Now the only question was if Aurora Unit Zero was malfunctioning, or rebelling against its initial programming, why was it doing so? She hoped to find out once she arrived at the chamber.

Samus checked her map once more and found that she was only a few rooms away from the Aurora Unit's chamber. She proceeded quickly and entered the next room. There, she found the remains of a several maintenance workers on the floor, or what she had thought had been maintenance workers, given that the bodies had been shot to pieces. She then activated her radio and asked, "Adam, are you seeing this?"

"I am, Samus," came the response. "It definitely looks like someone was down here. Be on your guard."

"I will be," Samus answered before deactivating her radio.

She continued to make her way through the room, past the bodies, and into the next one, which contained the body of a single technician. Again, he had been practically shredded with weapons fire. The next room contained nothing at all and Samus moved forward quickly. As she approached the entrance to the Aurora Unit's chamber, she found that the door to the chamber had been blown open. A feeling of dread entered her heart, for she had a bad feeling that the Space Pirates were behind this attack. And given the damage done, she figured that it had to be elite forces such as Elite Pirate Troopers, or even Commandos. Without hesitation, she entered the Aurora Unit's chamber.

Inside the Aurora Unit's chamber, she found the bodies of four Army Troopers and over a dozen security personnel. Given their positions, they had been fighting on the same side. Samus examined the room and found that there were no additional bodies, indicating that the enemy had managed to defeat them without suffering a single fatality. She then looked forward at the large Aurora Unit, suspended behind a force field. She looked at it closely, but could find nothing wrong with it on the outside. It was now that she desperately wished that she had her regular Scan Visor, rather than the second rate one she was stuck with since her X Parasite infection had destroyed most of her Power Suit's equipment.

She then went up to a computer console and typed in a few commands. She ordered the Aurora Unit to perform a self-diagnostic. After a few seconds, the vocalizers of the Aurora Unit came online. The Aurora Unit said only one thing, "Hunter…ev..acu..ate…Dai…ban…now! System…corrupted…Space…Pirates! Can…not…self…term…in…ate. Destroy…me. Please!"

"What?" Samus blurted.

"Space Pirates have infected me," the Aurora Unit replied in a much steadier tone. "You must terminate me now. Before I…destroy…Daiban!" Samus saw the brain struggle against some unknown force. The force field soon lowered itself and an eye appeared on the Aurora Unit. Just then, a blue wave of energy was launched at the bounty hunter. The wave slammed into her, sending her sailing through the air. She landed a few meters away and quickly rose to face the Aurora Unit.

"Use… Missiles…to…destroy…me," the Aurora Unit begged. Samus immediately switched to her missiles and targeted the Aurora Unit's eye. She then opened fire on the organic supercomputer, Ice Missiles erupting from her arm cannon, one after the other. The missiles streaked towards the Aurora Unit and smashed into it, detonating. The explosions sent out small waves of freezing energy and what looked to be snowflakes. The detonations caused the Aurora Unit to roar and writhe, whether the Aurora Unit was roaring in pain, or as a result of its attempt to prevent the Pirates from forcing it to destroy Daiban was unclear. It did not matter to Samus, though. She knew what had to be done, and while she was loathe to kill a sentient being that was not evil, she knew the wishes of the Aurora Unit, and what the results would be if she did not kill it. With that, she unleashed more missiles against the Aurora Unit. The brain spasmed and convulsed with each impact. The chamber shuddered violently as Samus knew that she was running low on time. She then fired another volley of Ice Missiles at the Aurora Unit and suddenly, the chamber ceased to shake. The Aurora Unit unleashed a screech as it fell apart in its tank. Samus fired one last Ice Missile at the Aurora Unit, just to make sure that it was destroyed. The missile struck the remains of the Aurora Unit and froze it solid. Samus then switched back to her Power Beam and charged it. Once the beam was charged, she unleashed the orange blast at the frozen Aurora Unit. The pulse of energy struck the Aurora Unit and shattered it into thousands of shards of ice. The shards littered the ground and clattered as they hit the metal floor.

Once the Aurora Unit had been destroyed, Samus went over to a terminal and read the scans of the planet's core. The readings were not reassuring. The Unit had succeeded in destabilizing the core. Samus typed in a few more commands on the computer, asking it if it would be destroyed, and if so how long Daiban had. The answers painted a bleak picture. The terminal read, _Planet core readings dangerously unstable. Estimated life expectancy of Daiban: twelve hours_.

Samus immediately opened a channel to Adam and commanded, "Adam, relay this signal to Galactic Federation Headquarters."

"At once," Adam replied.

"Listen, everyone," Samus began. "The Space Pirates seem to have taken control of Aurora Unit Zero during their attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters. I was forced to destroy Aurora Unit Zero before it destroyed Daiban. I was only fast enough to prevent its initial destruction, though. The planet's core readings are dangerously unstable and the secondary computers here in the terminal, indicate that Daiban will die in twelve hours!"

In the Council Chamber, the surviving Galactic Federation Council Members, medics, military personnel, and others listened intently to Samus's statement. Elric's eyes flashed. He knew that the Pirates were up to something, he just did not know that he had such little time to deal with the problem. He then went on and opened a channel to the rest of Daiban, saying, "Citizens of Daiban. We have grave news. Many of you are hearing about the recently repulsed attack on our great capital of Daiban and Galactic Federation Headquarters. The situation is even more dire than you know. Another attack has destabilized the core of Daiban and the planet has only twelve hours left of life. All citizens are to evacuate this world immediately!"

As if to accentuate his point, the entire chamber began to shudder violently. Parts of the ceiling collapsed and metal fell to the floor, fortunately not managing to harm anyone still inside the chamber. If Elric and the others had been outside, they would have heard the cries of the terrified civilians as the planet began to shake and convulse. In a way, it was fortunate that the planet began its death throes so quickly after Samus had destroyed the Aurora Unit, for now, the citizens knew that it was not a mere hoax, and even if they had doubts, they would likely decide that it was best not to take the chance of being wrong.

Back in the ruined Council Chamber, Elric, his entourage, and the rest of the assembled Council Members proceeded to flee the chamber with their military escorts. The Council Members inside were already making deals to ensure that they had spots on the fastest and most reliable of transports. Some even requisitioned military starships to carry them and their entourages. Most of the Council Members did their utmost best to ensure that they would be the first ones off of Daiban before it either died, or exploded. A few Council Members, however, did their best to calm everyone and try to allow an orderly evacuation of the doomed planet so that they could get as many of its citizens off the planet as possible before the planet exploded. Some of the few who remained were Colin Williams and Madeline Powell. Their first order of business was to help the government and military coordinate the evacuation of the civilians of Daiban to allow as many of them to evacuate as possible. Chairman Elric and the others, however, were making this task a lot more difficult than it had to be, especially since it was known that Elric had his own personal faster-than-light starfighter that he could have used to safely fly away from Daiban.

Down in the Aurora Unit's chambers, Samus opened a channel to Adam and ordered, "Adam, get as many people off this planet as possible."

"What about you, Samus?" Adam asked in a worried tone. He feared that she was going to either remain down on the planet, or cut it close, trying to help coordinate the evacuation.

His fears were confirmed by her response, "I'm staying so I can monitor the situation. I'll alert the others if the planet's core readings destabilize any further and alter the timetable for the evacuation. We need to get as many people off this planet as possible before it explodes."

"Samus, if you remain behind for too long, you won't have any way off the planet, yourself!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," she replied. "Now, go and help with the evacuation."

Adam gave a shrug and replied, "Understood, lady."

Above the ground, just outside the abandoned Federation Computer Archives Building, Samus's gunship rose a few into the air and slowly flew along the streets. A few streets away, he found a huddled crowd of humans standing near a grate, numbering about a dozen. Several looked to be young, with a few looking much older. A bio-scan indicated that the humans all belonged to the same family, with three generations between the whole group. The ground began to shake violently and the dilapidated houses began to collapse. The streets began to split open, creating large chasms. Adam checked his database and found that the families were cut off from their evacuation transports. He lowered the ship and opened his ventral hatch. His voice soon sounded over several loudspeakers on the ship, blaring, "Quickly, get on the ship! I'll take you off this planet!"

An explosion in the distance that sounded like a volcano eruption convinced the family to accept the mysterious stranger's offer for passage. "Stand underneath the hatch," Adam instructed. "The ship's tractor beam will pull you up."

The family did as it was instructed, with the six children being taken up into the ship first. Next were the parents of the children, both sets of them, and finally, the grandparents. Once they had all been taken onboard, Adam realized that the small gunship could not possibly hold any more people, and rose from the surface of Daiban.

Meanwhile, in orbit, several troopships were quickly being converted to evacuation transports, with the larger ships being able to hold close to a quarter million personnel. Countless smaller ships were docking with the larger ships in order to disgorge their passengers so that they could go back down to the surface and bring up another load. Even military warships were giving space for the evacuating civilians. With the large amount of space present on the Olympus-class battleships, the massive starships were able to take on tens of thousands of evacuating civilians, each. Still, the military knew that with the limited space onboard their ships, they would only be able to evacuate a relatively miniscule number of civilians before the planet exploded, even with fifty Olympus-class battleships and one hundred Asgard-class heavy cruisers present, plus all of the other ships. The small millions that the military warships would be able to hold was next to nothing compared to the twenty-seven billion people present on Daiban.

All throughout the twelve hours that Daiban had left, Samus, Colin Williams, Madeline Powell, and a few others helped coordinate the evacuation of Daiban: Samus from Aurora Unit Zero's chamber, and Williams and Powell from Galactic Federation Headquarters. They knew that they would not be able to get everybody off the planet. There were just too many people. Despite their best efforts, they knew that some of the poorest of people would not be able to get news of Daiban's impending fate and would not know to go to any designated evacuation points. Other issues were that the planet was highly populated, that not everyone had access to escape ships. There were many family-owned ships that were slower than light that could allow for immediate evacuation of the planet for individual families, but there were few that had any real faster than light capability. And there was the issue that a lot of people wanted to get out as quickly as possible. There had been several midair collisions that had destroyed said evacuating ships and killed all of those onboard. Several other collisions had damaged ships enough so that they were unable to reach escape velocity and were confined to the doomed world.

As the clock counted down to the destruction of the planet, the number of people still on Daiban dwindled. Wave after wave of evacuating transports, ranging in size from no larger than a family car all the way to the size of an Olympus-class battleship rose from the planet and flew out into space. Within the first four hours, the military warships were filled to beyond capacity. As soon as these ships had taken on the last person that they physically had the ability to carry and provide for, they jumped into warp, wanting to ensure that they managed to get the civilians that they did contain to safety.

However, on the surface, all too many people were doing their best to file on the transports before the transports left and took off for space, for many did not know how many more trips the transports could, or would, make. Several military starships were already being called to escort Chairman Elric and the members of the Federation Council loyal to him away from Daiban. Some of them followed, while others disobeyed Elric's orders and continued to assist in the evacuation of the planet.

Time continued to tick down as the military, Samus Aran, Council Members Williams, Powell, and a few others tried to coordinate the evacuation of Daiban. However, time was short. Still, they were determined to remain on the planet for as long as possible. However, the planet was beginning to make their decisions for them, for the ground around Federation City, which had already been almost completely evacuated, was already splitting. The once magnificent city was now nothing more than rubble, all but the sturdiest of buildings withstanding the violent groundquakes. Volcanoes were already forming where once there had been none. Fires were already beginning to form around cities. Power generators were suffering damage or outright destroyed, some of them exploding, and killing millions of civilians.

Eventually, the Council Members and others that had remained knew that there was nothing further that they could do. They looked down at the clock and saw that the planet had less than half an hour left, and the final wave of transports was already lifting off. The ships in orbit were already full and for those few that were coming in empty, there was no time to offload the civilians onto the transports and also bring them back down to the planet to load more on. A few atmosphere capable transports had come to directly take on civilians, trying evacuate every person that they could. The Council Members looked on, barely able to hold back tears for those that they would be unable to save. The only orders they had given to the members of their personal staffs regarding their own safety was that they would have their emergency evacuation starfighters fueled and ready to go when the time to leave came. And the time had come. Before leaving his post, though, Colin Williams spoke into his radio, telling Samus, "Samus, we read that there is less than half an hour left here. We're going up with the last group. We've done all we can. Get off this world now!"

"I copy," Samus responded.

With that, Colin Williams, Madeline Powell, and the few Council Members that had not taken the quick path off the planet went over to the launch bay, where a series of hyper-light starfighters remained in the bay. These were all one and two-man fighters, though. The ships were already fueled and powered up for when the time came to evacuate. Each of the Council Members jumped into the cockpit of the starfighters and the canopies then closed. Once the canopies were shut, the fighters immediately took off into the sky and flew as fast as they could away from the dying planet. They were among the last of the ships to leave Daiban.

Under the Federation Computer Archives Building, Samus quickly made her way out of the Aurora Unit's chamber. She knew that she did not have a lot of time to find a fighter or other ship capable of reaching orbit and escape the doomed planet. As she retraced her path through the underground tunnels in order to reach the surface, a few rooms in, she found that her path was blocked. Seeing that the entire ceiling had collapsed all throughout the next corridor, she knew that she would need to take a different path, and pray for a miracle.

As she ran to find an alternative path to the surface of Daiban she felt the ground shudder violently. In the distance, she heard, and felt, the explosions up on the surface as the noise of the blasts echoed through the tunnels. Her environmental sensors soon issued a warning as a red line began to form on her HUD, along with a bar, which extended farther. So far, the red line had not filled the entire bar, but it was close to doing so. Despite having on her Omega Fusion Suit, which already had the environmental protection afforded by the Varia and Gravity Suits, Samus suspected that the lava present would still damage her suit. It just did not have the defenses of her previous Varia or Gravity Suits. She checked her countdown clock to see just how much time she had left. She had less than five minutes before the planet exploded.

She soon came to a fork in the path and took a left. It was a most fortuitous decision on her part, for she immediately saw a pair of doors in front of her, which parted as she approached. Inside the next room, she found a series of fighter craft. Many of them were merely atmospheric fighters and, thus, useless to her, but she did find a small fighter that was space capable in the corner. This fighter resembled a bird with a single rudder on its rear, a small weapons bay, and two energy cannons mounted onto its wings. Samus figured that this was better than nothing, so she went over to the fighter and opened its cockpit.

The fighter's cockpit opened and she immediately began its startup sequence once she jumped in, deactivating her suit so that she could use both of her hands to pilot the ship. She was not surprised when its directions appeared on the console in front of her in English. What did surprise the bounty hunter, though, was that in the checklist, it stated that the fighter had both shields and a warp drive. Hope came to Samus upon seeing that it had a warp drive. While she did not doubt that she would evacuate the planet in time using the starfighter, problems would have come if her fighter had not been FTL capable and there had been no help forthcoming from the rest of the fleet. After all, she did not know how long Adam would have had to hold the passengers on her gunship. Since the fighter did have a warp drive, she could scan for her gunship's signature and immediately jump to it.

She then closed the cockpit and powered up the fighter. The display also showed that it was a Cornerian Fighter and was armed with six missiles. It seemed as if, the Federation had been doing some research on this fighter, wanting to know how this fighter could be so small, yet have shields, missiles, and a faster-than-light drive. This puzzled Samus since the Katana-class starfighters designed on Earth had heavier shields, were faster, had missiles and Nova Bombs, and also sported FTL drives, themselves. Samus banished the thought, though as she powered the fighter's engines and its G-diffuser system and ascended.

As Samus ascended, she tilted her fighter upwards when she found that the launch doors were still closed. She immediately locked onto the doors with a missile and disgorged it from the bottom of her craft. The missile streaked towards the door and detonated upon impact. The massive explosion blew a large hole in the doors that was more than sufficient for Samus to pilot her new fighter through. Samus's fighter zoomed through the doors and rocketed into the air, and towards outer space. Samus looked out the cockpit and saw that volcanoes were already erupting all over the planet. She looked back and saw the crust already beginning to split. She had lost track of time so she did not know if the necessary time had passed for the planet's death to begin, but she was thankful that she had found the fighter when she had and that she was now leaving the dying planet's atmosphere.

Once she had left the atmosphere and had reached a safe distance away from Daiban, Samus turned her fighter back towards the planet. She watched as the brown surface of the planet cracked and splintered, orange and yellow lines forming across its surface. The lines then seemed to spill over onto the solid surface of the planet. The planet looked to be bleeding. Fires erupted from all across the surface of the planet. After a couple of minutes, the planet entered its final death throes. An explosion rocked the planet and about a fifth of the planet exploded and propelled flaming debris and lava into space, where it cooled into globules of magma and lava-rock. Several more explosions rocked the planet and most of the crust and part of the mantle had been ejected into space, leaving nothing more than the remains of the mantle and the core. After a few more seconds, the remains of Daiban finally exploded, sending the rest of the mantle and pieces of the core hurtling through space. Samus then turned her fighter and accelerated away from the planetary debris. She looked forward and saw that she was the last ship to still be inside the planetary system, as all of the other ships had entered warp.

She was about to enter warp when she heard Chairman Elric's voice sound over her radio. "Citizens of the Galactic Federation," he began. "Today is the most terrible day in the history of this great entity. The Space Pirates, a force thought to have been destroyed, has struck us at our very hearts. First, the Galactic Federation Council received an attack that saw the deaths of more than three thousand Galactic Federation Council Members. That's almost a third of the membership of the Federation Council. Second, today, we saw a world die. And not just a world; but a planet that had been the center of galactic civilization for centuries, millennia, even. Long before the Galactic Federation of today had been formed, Daiban was the center of galactic civilization. It had historical significance. But more importantly, it was home to twenty-seven billion people. So far, we have only accounted for eight billion evacuees. Those remaining nineteen billion civilians must be avenged!" A slam was heard over the radio, indicating that Elric had slammed his fist down onto his desk. "We must show our enemies that the Galactic Federation is still powerful and that we will not let this travesty go without punishment! To do so, however, will require a great deal of sacrifice on all of our parts. To that end, I called an emergency meeting of the surviving members of the Galactic Federation Council and they have granted me emergency powers. It is with great reluctance that I accept these powers, but given the situation, I see no alternative. As of right now, I am declaring martial law across the entire Galactic Federation. I will assure everyone, though, that once this crisis has passed, that I will relinquish the powers granted to me back to the Federation Council. However, until then, we need to work quickly, for our enemies will do their best to take advantage of this situation. To that end, I call upon the planet Earth to stand up and accept its new position as temporary Headquarters of the Galactic Federation. In addition, I must call on all of the food producing and cattle raising farms to increase their yield and to ship food and supplies to the starving and dispossessed of the Galactic Federation. Being the strongest and most self-sufficient planet, I know that Earth can handle this temporary burden. Since I am going to be required to coordinate with the rest of the fleet, I will leave my Vice-Chairman, Cyrus Mann, in charge of Earth for the time being, answerable only to me. I will also assign sector governors to various sectors of the Federation as well. They will be in charge of administering martial law, carrying out my orders, and deploying the defenses of the Federation sector fleets. I am also giving a great deal of power to the Police and military and in the absence of myself, or the sector governors or their representatives, they have final authority over rules and regulations. I know that this is inconvenient and I wish that there was another way to ensure the safety and security of the Federation, but I know of no other way. To that end, we must all move forward past this tragedy, and into a new day. We must never forget what happened to Daiban! And we shall avenge her loss! This transmission ends, now."

With that, the radio cut off, and Samus knew that the worst had come. Martial law had been declared, Elric was now, in essence, an emperor, though he would not call himself that until he had Earth firmly under his control, and he had placed the one man that Earth hated with a passion in charge of the planet. She knew that Earth would not take this lying down, and that they would be hesitant to enforce any of the orders given by Elric, if for no other reason than because they knew that it would be Cyrus who was going to be overseeing the planet. And the people of Earth would be on the lookout for anything suspicious that he would try.

Back on Earth, Cyrus and Charon listened to Elric's address to the Galactic Federation. At the end of the address, a grin twisted their lips. "Finally," Cyrus said excitedly. "Finally, I will have the power to access the Spear Pillar once more and experiment in creating a new Red Chain, this time without Earth's government or the International Police Force hanging all over me."

"Yes," Charon echoed. "With Elric basically telling Earth that it will now feed and clothe the survivors of Daiban and everyone else, as well as likely be made to house many of the at least eight billion evacuees that had made it off of Daiban before its destruction. That will force Earth to focus on the Federation and not on us. And its likely refusal to do all that the Federation desires will cause the two sides to begin mistrusting one another."

"And that will free me to unleash the Dark Original One upon the world," Cyrus added. "And with all of the suffering of this universe, the Dark Original One will have to create a new world, a new universe for me; one without emotion and suffering. The day is coming!" he exclaimed. "Soon, I will have everything!" His eyes then flashed with the same insanity and darkness that they had when he had come so close to achieving his dream two years earlier.

Meanwhile, back on _Space Lab Moreau_, Ridley listened to the reports coming in over the comm networks from the Main Engineering section of the station. According to the final tally, more than three thousand members of the Galactic Federation Council had been killed in the Space Pirate attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters. He grinned upon hearing the reports and the final tally. He stared at the screen as he witnessed Daiban explode. He sadistically hoped that most of the people of Daiban had died and would have been disappointed to know that eight billion of Daiban's inhabitants had managed to evacuate before the planet exploded. He did not let it bother him, though. He still had some work to do, yet. He quickly went over to an unoccupied tank that looked to be large enough to contain an Aurora Unit, or Mother Brain. He then took the vial of Aurora Unit Zero's DNA and a syringe. He drew about half of the DNA of the vial and then injected it into the unoccupied tank. Once the DNA had been injected into the tank, he withdrew the needle and backed away. He stared at the tank for a few more moments before turning and exiting Main Engineering to return to the Control Deck. Now, he would only have to wait a few months before the next phase of his plan would begin.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Samus sat in the cockpit of her gunship as she sailed through subspace and sat, thinking. Six months had past since the destruction of Daiban, and the deaths of nearly one third of the Galactic Federation Council. These last six months had been full of turmoil as well. First of all, the people and the government of planet Earth were being less than cooperative in Elric's eyes. While Earth had drastically increased the amount of foodstuffs given to the Galactic Federation, they had been hesitant to outright hostile towards enforcing some of Elric's other decrees. Earth had refused to enforce the military draft, stating that it had been the government that had suffered the casualties in the assault and not the military, which had shown itself to perform admirably against the Space Pirates in the past. In addition, Earth was refusing to allow itself to be the capital of the Galactic Federation. The reason that Elric said that Earth gave was that they did not want to be targets for the Space Pirates or be a part of the Galactic Federation, foolishly thinking that they were above Federation laws.

He also added that Earth did not want to make space for the many dispossessed civilians of Daiban, and that the people of Earth were showing themselves to be selfish. Many of the media outlets had supported Elric's stated reason for Earth's lack of cooperation. However, Wolf News Channel, a news channel based on Earth, but that had viewers and ears far beyond Sol, countered Elric's claims, stating that the reason Earth was being less than cooperative was mainly due to the fact that the Federation was becoming more of a dictatorship, than the democracy that it had been before Elric had taken office. In addition, planets that were a part of the Galactic Federation had previously been autonomous and not under direct control by Federation representatives. That was no longer the case, and it disturbed the people of Earth greatly, including Councilman Colin Williams, who still championed the rights and freedoms of individual planets, assuming basic sentient rights were adhered to. In addition, Earth feared that many of the "civilians" that were coming to settle on Earth were part of Elric's new secret police, called the Watchmen, based upon an old Earth comic book superhero team.

Samus could not argue with Earth's reasoning, if everything stated by Wolf News was true. The channel had reported that there had been raids on civilian houses and entire families had been taken captive, ostensibly on charges of sedition, but most secret witnesses and sources inside the Federation stated that the reason for the captures was because the people captured, and sometimes even killed, were taken because they knew the secret of Cyrus Mann, or other important allies of Elric. Cyrus had been another reason that Earth was less than eager to accept direct rule by the Galactic Federation. Elric's decision to place him in charge of Earth, answerable only to him, was probably the real issue that Earth had with the Elric and the Federation Council. Cyrus's immediate promotion to Vice-Chairman of the Federation Council was one of the primary reasons that Earth had been mistrustful of Elric since he had taken office. Earth still held to the story that Cyrus was a known criminal on that world, and Earth refused to be ruled by a criminal.

One thing that the tragedy of Daiban had done was allow Elric to maintain control of the Galactic Federation, despite the imminent impeachment hearing. With the emergency powers that the Council had granted him, he had been able to fill the seats of the dead Council Members with his own people. As such, when the time to vote on Elric's impeachment came, the Council narrowly voted against impeaching Chairman Elric. This move was made even more controversial due to the fact that the Council had given Elric emergency powers. It was a move that that Earth, as well as the rest of Sol, took a close look at, for none of the Council Members that represented Earth or any of the planets or moons in Sol had voted to grant Elric emergency powers, fearing just such an abuse by him. Elric's justification was that strength and solidarity had to be shown and that the vacant seats needed to have been filled as quickly as possible in order to show the other powers of the galaxy that the Galactic Federation was returning to business as usual. Sol did not believe it for an instant. The fact that Elric had given so much power to the Police and military, or rather _his_ Police and military, made it seem all that much more suspicious. Despite Earth's misgivings, though, most of the Federation planets accepted Elric's actions and decrees with a minimum of grumbling. Many worlds had already gotten over it and were willing to place the needs of the Federation above their own. They had joined Elric in calling Earth arrogant, stubborn, insular, and isolationist. They accused Earth of hoarding all of its rich resources so that it could profit from the destruction of Daiban. Such accusations incensed Earth and as a response, Earth said that the rest of the Federation had surrendered to Elric and had gone against the very principles that the Galactic Federation had been founded upon. Earth called them cowards, letting a dictator use a tragedy to justify his acquisition of power through illegal means. Earth's president had even gone on record and said that the Federation died the moment Daiban exploded and the entity that called itself the Galactic Federation was now a Galactic Empire. As of now, Earth and the planets and moons in Sol, were dangerously close to actually seceding from the Federation. The Federation, of course, could not allow that to happen. However, the Federation fleet was now having troubles of its own.

The Kriken Empire had smelled blood, and had begun launching attacks on Federation frontier worlds, having taken several colonies, with others still being hotly contested. These attacks had resulted in costly losses to Federation defense task forces in the frontier sectors, and had required the shift of naval assets to the protection of the contested colonies, and the retaking of the captured colonies. In addition, the Space Pirates had launched some costly raids on Federation shipping lanes, and on Federation ships, themselves.

In the six months since Daiban had been destroyed, the Federation fleet had reported the theft of dozens of ships, among them a Gehenna-class battleship, an experimental dreadnaught commissioned by Chairman Elric that was twice the size of an Olympus-class battleship; one Kraken-class troopship which held one-hundred thousand troops along with armor and equipment, two Asgard-class heavy cruisers, and many other cruisers and frigates. While most of the cruisers and frigates were of older designs, gradually being phased out of service in favor of more modern starships, they were still quite powerful in their own right. And in the hands of the Space Pirates, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

Soon, another dreadful thought crossed Samus's mind. In the last few weeks, she and the Federation had received numerous reports of Aurora Units on numerous ships and worlds malfunctioning. Some of them had even attacked their operators, resulting in the deaths of many good and renowned scientists. Even hospitals, orphanages, and other facilities that gave care to others were attacked and destroyed by rampaging malfunctioning Units. In addition, a number of Federation starships had self-destructed in the middle of space with no known problems reported before the self-destructions. Among these ships had been at least two Olympus-class battleships. One thing all of the lost ships, both captured and destroyed, had in common was the fact that they contained Aurora Units. What made things even more interesting, and in a way, disturbing for the Federation, though, was the fact that none of the Aurora Units on Earth, or based upon Earth's Auroras were being affected in any way. However, the Auroras on Earth had detected strange signals coming to many other Aurora Units, especially to those that had malfunctioned just before the malfunction.

Aurora Unit One, Earth's first and lead Aurora Unit, postulated that the Space Pirates had likely gotten some DNA and command codes from Aurora Unit Zero before Daiban's destruction and had managed to clone it. This was especially bad since not only could the Space Pirates use their own new Aurora Unit to take control of any and all non-Earth based Aurora Units, it also granted them access to a great deal of Federation information, such as troop deployments, fleet deployments, the strengths and weaknesses of most of the current Federation starships in service. The possibilities were practically endless for the Space Pirates.

As such, Samus had recently been dispatched to find the location of the Space Pirates, or whoever had stolen the Federation ships and retrieve the ships; or, barring that, destroy the enemy and ensure that the ships are unable to be used by any enemies of the Federation. She had been searching for signs of the Pirates in deep space for six weeks when she had received a distress signal from two starships that said that they were under attack by Space Pirates. Upon checking her computer, she found that the signal had been sent by a group of Unicorn-class destroyers, starships that were smaller than regular cruisers, and about the size of light cruisers, but packed greater firepower than medium cruisers, but less than heavy cruisers, that had been part of the Star Elf Defense Force, the official planetary militia of the Star Elves that had since been nationalized into becoming a part of the Galactic Federation Navy. Despite the troubles that were occurring back at Sol and on Earth, Samus had still been given the assignment of tracking down the Space Pirates. This was likely going to be her best chance to find them. She knew that the destroyers would be a great prize for any marauding force, especially the Space Pirates. Even more interesting was the fact that both ships had Aurora Units onboard. This clinched in Samus's mind that the Space Pirates were using a clone of Aurora Unit Zero to control a great deal of the Federation fleet. Samus almost hoped that the ships were in the process of being taken by the enemy, so she could find out if the reason so many powerful ships had managed to be taken by the Space Pirates, since she doubted that the Pirates had enough troops to take hold of and crew twelve starships, especially given that some of the ships were so powerful. Granted, the Space Pirates may well have cloned some new troops, but given what she had read about the ships that they had taken, the ships had been crew-intense ships, despite the presence of Aurora Units onboard.

She looked down at the console and asked, "Time to last known location of the _Kirin_ and the _Indrik_?"

Adam's voice sounded over the speakers, answering, "About two minutes, lady."

Samus sat back in her seat and activated her gunship's stealth system. Should the ships still be there, but under the control of enemy forces, she wanted to give herself a chance to be able to latch onto one of the ships and board it, if for no other reason then to find out where the attackers were taking the ships. Samus then waited for her ship to arrive.

Back on Earth, in the former Team Galactic Building, Cyrus sat at his computer in his office on the top floor of the building. Outside his office, several Watchmen stood by, protecting the entrance to his office. He stood up and exited his office, entering a special laboratory. Inside the lab were three ovular containers with wires on top leading to a large machine reminiscent of a super-computer in the corner that looked to have been designed to hold Pokémon, specifically Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. The machines had been designed to extract energy from the Pokémon and form the Red Chain, an energy chain that was used to bind the Legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia and allow Cyrus to command them. His plan had failed, but he had managed to duplicate the chain before, and he would be able to do so once more. This time, however, he had no intentions of using it to summon Dialga and Palkia and binding them. His target was much greater, and much more powerful. He also had to keep his work secret. He could not allow the Federation and Elric to know what he was planning. While Elric would likely try to usurp his command over the Dark Original One, the Federation, itself, would likely turn on him and immediately oust him from his office. And even if the Council, and Elric, did not, then Earth would, for Earth had been down this path once before. Last time, it had taken the actions of a select few to stop Cyrus's dreams from becoming reality. Earth, and the universe, might not be so lucky next time.

He went over to one of the technicians working on the machine and asked, "So, how does it look?"

The technician turned to him and replied, "So far, so good. We still have enough of the energy collected from the crystals on Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit to recreate the Red Chain."

"Will it be powerful enough to contain Dark Arceus?" Cyrus asked.

The technician looked over his readouts and replied, "I don't know. If you had asked if it would be powerful enough to bind Dialga and Palkia, then the answer would have been yes. However, since we don't know the full power of Dark Arceus, I can't say for sure."

Cyrus scowled. "Your best guess."

"Again, I'm just a technician going by my current readouts," the technician responded. "Charon might have a better idea since he worked with you when you bound Dialga and Palkia. But if what they say about Dark Arceus is true, then I can't see anything being able to bind him. I mean, what could? He's basically a god, if not, _the_ God."

Cyrus grunted. "Thank you, anyway, technician," Cyrus answered. "By the way, how long will it be until the new Red Chain is completed?"

"If we start now, we can likely have it completed in a few days. It will take at least that long for us to generate the proper amounts of energy for the chain to have a chance of being able to contain a Pokémon of Dialga's or Palkia's power."

"Then get to it," Cyrus commanded.

"Yes, sir," the technician responded as he went back to work on the machine.

Cyrus smiled and then left the technician to his work and went back into his office. Once he was inside his office, he closed the door so that he could be alone with his thoughts. When he went to sit down at his desk, he saw a flashing light on his computer's console. He moved the cursor on the screen to the light and clicked on the mouse. Immediately, the face of Chairman Elric appeared on the screen. Cyrus almost recoiled in shock. He immediately hoped that Elric had not discovered his secret plans, for if he had, then Elric would have forced him to move a little sooner than planned. He hoped that Elric was only calling for a status report.

"Vice-Chairman Cyrus," Elric said in a low voice.

"Chairman Elric," Cyrus answered, lowering his eyes as if he were bowing to the Chairman. The there was a pause for a few moments. After the pause, and hearing nothing from Elric, Cyrus asked, "May I ask why you have called me?"

"How is everything going on Earth?" Elric asked. His tone, however, sounded suspicious to Cyrus, as if Elric was hiding something.

"As fine as can be expected, given the circumstances," Cyrus replied. "So far, we have had few riots in the streets. Those that did occur were mostly started by a few malcontents. However, there has also been Wolf News Channel. They have been spreading reports about the abuses of power that the Police and Watchmen have perpetrated. In addition, we have been rounding up those who have spoken out against your rules, though Wolf News has also been making reports about that as well. In addition, we also are having difficulty getting Earth's military forces to cooperate with us. As a result, the construction of the Orbital Defense Ring Network has fallen significantly behind schedule."

"Is that all?" Elric asked, his voice not bothering to hide his displeasure.

"So far, sir."

"What about the Pokémon Trainer Ash Ketchum? What about Leaf?" Elric asked. "What about the ape, Donkey Kong? Hell, I'll take any information you've got on the potential return date of the Chosen Four, or anything you've got on the Marios."

"I have nothing on those specified individuals, yet. I have mainly been dealing with seditionists and those calling for Earth's secession," Cyrus told him.

"I need these people to be dealt with now, Cyrus!" Elric cried, which took the Vice-Chairman aback. His surprise at Elric's outburst was evident on his face. "And if you can't deal with them, at least tell me where they are, so I can hire the necessary forces to deal with them."

"I'll get to work on it, Elric," Cyrus assured him, regaining his composure.

"You'd better," was Elric's only response before the screen went blank.

"What is your obsession with these people?" Cyrus muttered to the absent image of Elric. While Cyrus had a grudge against Ash Ketchum for stopping him from having Dialga and Palkia create his own universe, he had never even heard of Leaf, Donkey Kong, the Chosen Four, or the Marios. Cyrus made a note to himself to find out everything he could about these people, especially if they had the ability hinder or prevent the accomplishment his goals. Even so, he suspected that they would not be able to stop him. Ash was just a child and in another region entirely, and as such, he doubted that Ash knew much about the Galactic Federation aside from who the Chairman currently was, especially since he was on his Pokémon training journey, rather than sitting around the table at home, watching the news during dinner with his family. Even if he knew the name of the Vice-Chairman, there were a number of humans named Cyrus. As long as he did not stand out while on television, he doubted that he would be recognized by those who knew him. So far, the Federation had not intruded in the daily lives of those on Earth, though that was quickly changing, at least in Japan. And that would soon spread to the rest of the world. To him, the real problem would be the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia. She had powerful Pokémon, and also knew his secret. He did not doubt that _she_ was the reason why Earth's government and Councilman Williams had been so suspicious of him when he had been made the Vice-Chairman of the Galactic Federation. She must have passed her knowledge of him on to Williams and Earth's current government as well. As such, he knew that even with the Federation Police and the Watchmen with him, he would have to be careful of any Earth Police stings. He also wanted to fly under the radar of Earth's military forces as well. While the Federation had officially nationalized all planetary militias and military forces of the individual worlds into the Galactic Federation military, Earth, naturally, had not complied with the order.

Cyrus turned off his computer and then folded the screen down onto the keyboard. He then left the office and went towards a second room across the lab area. Inside the second room, he found a duffel bag that contained six Poké Balls. Inside the Poké Balls were six Pokémon. These Pokémon were Houndoom, demonic looking dog-like Pokémon with black fur and gray horns; Crobat, a purple bat-like Pokémon with four wings, a Gyarados, a large Pokémon that looked like a cross between a dragon and a snake; a Honchkrow, a bird Pokemon that looked like a large, black crow; a Weavile, cat-like Pokémon that had purple fur, sharp claws, and pink frills on the fur, and a Spiritomb, a gaseous Pokémon that resembled a swirling vortex of purple and green orbs of various sizes circling its face, along with green eyes and a green mouth. He got out the Poké Balls and strapped them to his belt. He felt as if he would need of their services in the future. All he could do now was wait. If nothing bad happened in the next few days, then in three or so days, he would be the god of a new universe that had been made from this old, flawed universe.

Meanwhile, onboard a large starliner just outside of the Sol system that was now known as _Federation One_, Chairman Elric emerged from his office and returned to the new Galactic Federation Council Chamber on his ship and proceeded to listen to the arguing of the members of the Galactic Federation Council that were present onboard the ship. It was a good thing that the starliner was almost five miles long, for the ship had literally been transformed from a luxurious transport, to the, hopefully temporary, home of the Galactic Federation Council and its Chairman, Elric. Surrounding the ship was a task force of two starcraft carriers, the _G.F.S. Gehenna_, the first of the new Gehenna-class battleships commissioned by Elric, and captained and crewed by a his own hand-picked crewmen; four Asgard-class heavy cruisers, and eight Griffin-class frigates. Despite the protection afforded to his starship, Elric was still concerned. He did not like the reports of so many Federation ships either going missing or being destroyed. Even worse was the fact that many Aurora Units had started to malfunction, and the only ones that seemed to be fine were the Aurora Units built and designed on Earth, which only used technology based upon Chozo technology, rather than Chozo technology and genetic samples from Mother Brain as the basis for their construction. That had only given Earth even more reason to be wary of Galactic Federation ships coming down to the planet with possibly malfunctioning Aurora Units. The humans of Earth did not want the Federation Auroras being able to figure out the Earth's Auroras and allow whatever was causing them to go haywire to affect the Earth's Aurora Units as well.

Elric listened to the arguments and grinned. He knew that most of the Federation had been against Earth in its unwillingness to open itself up more to refugees to Daiban, despite Elric's plan to have Watchmen impersonate refugees, as well as recruit refugees from Daiban into the special police force. In addition, most of the Council was not thrilled that Earth was unwilling to let the Federation use it as its headquarters, despite the fact that Earth had superior defenses to any other planet in the Federation, and possibly the galaxy.

"We need to get off this ship and get down to Earth, now!" a Star Elf representative on the Council cried out over the entire chamber. This was met with a chorus of applause, "yeahs", and "he's rights".

On the other side, Councilman Colin Williams, said calmly, "There are many good reasons why Earth does not want to be the capital of the Federation…if we can still call the Federation, the Federation, that is," he added coldly.

"Yeah, and what are those oh so great reasons, selfish jerk?" a reptilian humanoid alien called out in response.

"The fact that as of yet, our Aurora Units are still in working order and are unaffected by whatever is afflicting the others," Williams replied calmly. "Earth is not nearly as heavily populated as Daiban was. We don't want our entire landmass to be converted into a city." He then focused his gaze on the reptilian alien and said, "You call us selfish, but we're the ones who are setting aside more land to grow crops and providing you with food, both in the form of meats and plants. We are adding to our exports, without raising prices, in fact, we've made our emergency provisions free for the survivors of Daiban. We have also allowed the survivors of Daiban to settle on our colony worlds, most of which are prime planets for farming or growing and breeding livestock. And we even allowed settlers on Earth, until it was discovered that Watchmen were posing as survivors of Daiban to get access to our planet."

The alien scoffed. "Yeah, you're bein' real helpful. You refuse to let your military be nationalized by the Federation. You proceed to kick off the settlers that came to your world, tellin' them that they can only go to the frontier hick worlds, rather than the nice, cozy, inner system worlds of Earth and Mars."

"Those 'hick worlds', are actually closer to the core than Earth," Williams corrected. "And as stated before, we only kicked them off once we realized that many of them were agents of the Federation, or rather, _Elric_. Given the recent freedoms that have been curtailed by the Federation, we have a right to be concerned. How much is too much, Councilman Frazze? How many freedoms must we give up before we become the very thing we hate? The very thing we fought against for so long? Do you want to know why Earth is so suspicious of the Federation? It's because we've gone through this sort of thing in our own history. The first freedoms to go when the government is going to perform a tyrannical takeover is the right to keep and bear arms. Well, according to the Federation Council, that right is now gone. Without a special permit granted by Elric, a member of the Council, or the local sector governor, no citizen can keep and bear any sort of gun, be it a projectile or energy weapon. Even bows and arrows are quickly being outlawed. And now, the media is getting taken over. We also have reports of people being arrested for speaking out against the current direction of the galactic Federation. When will it end?"

"That is quite enough, Councilman Williams," Elric proclaimed loudly over the assembly.

"You said that once the crisis was over that you would relinquish power back to the people," Colin Williams called out over the din of people muttering back and forth.

"The crisis isn't over!" Elric replied, pointing at Williams. "Over a dozen ships are missing, with over a hundred more either destroyed or damaged. Entire fleets have been wiped out in the Kriken advance because the Aurora Units on the ships malfunctioned and left the ships defenseless before the enemy." His gaze then narrowed on Councilman Colin Williams. "You are a member of the Galactic Federation Council. It is your duty to carry out my decrees. Now, get your planet in line, or I'll replace you right here and now!"

"Yes, my lord," Williams responded bitterly, giving an exaggerated, stiff bow. It was not the right honorific to use for Elric, yet, though it got his point across not only to Elric, but to the rest of the Council as well. He hoped that it would give those who were not appointees of Elric due to the deaths of almost a third of the Council just prior to the death of Daiban something to think about, but he cynically believed that his cries would fall on deaf ears. The rest of the Federation wanted to exploit Earth since it was the most resource rich planet of all of the technologically advanced worlds, in addition to being the most heavily defended world as well. Having Earth as a headquarters would give Elric even more leverage since he could hide behind Earth's massive defenses and planetary shields. He did not have any intention of following Elric's order, though. The President of Earth was right. He could see it in Elric's eyes when he spoke. Elric was out of control. He knew that something had to be done quickly, before things got even worse. Councilman Williams then rose from his seat and proceeded to leave the chamber. He was quickly followed by Councilwoman Madeline Powell of Mars and several other representatives from several of Jupiter and Saturn's moons, Aliehs III, and Corella 5, both of which were major ship and fighter production worlds, along with Earth and Mars.

The rest of the Council chamber erupted into an uproar at the leaving of what they had titled the Earth Alliance. The problem, in their eyes, was the fact that several important worlds had left along with the Earth faction. The rest of the Council was less than pleased at the leaving of the representatives of Aliehs III and Corella 5.

"You must keep the Federation in line, Elric!" one representative, a human male in his early sixties shouted.

"We can't let Sol, Aliehs and Corella form a coalition," another Council Member cried. "We could afford the loss of Earth, barely, but Aliehs III _and_ Corella Five? Our starship production ability would be cut in half, not to mention the loss of Mars, Luna, and Earth!"

"I know!" Elric roared at the entire Council. "Rest assured, I'll keep them from seceding from the Galactic Federation. And even if they do secede, I'll bring them back into the fold."

"How?" a female avian alien with blue feathers asked. "Sol, Aliehs, and Corella are not without their own militaries. In addition, a noticeable portion of the Federation military is quite loyal to the worlds that just left us in a storm. They may not have seceded yet, but if this continues, what will happen if they are ordered to fire on Earth, Corella Five, Aliehs III, Mars, or Luna? What then?"

"That's why I have been upping our recruitment quota from various colonies and increased pay to all military soldiers," Elric responded. "We need to get fresh, loyal, troops in place in case just such an emergency happens. And we can still bribe some of the more senior officers in the Army, Navy, and Marines to serve us."

"And those that won't?" the avian Council Member asked.

"Then we'll deal with them when the time comes…with whatever force is deemed necessary."

That caused the rest of the Council to murmur among themselves. Elric waited for a few moments before suggesting, "In light of the recent events with the early departure of Council Members Williams, Powell, Diego, Dorn, and several others, I suggest a recess. We'll reconvene in three hours."

The other Council Members then quieted and then all nodded. With that, the rest of the Council proceeded to depart the chamber and headed over to their individual quarters. Elric could not help but notice that groups were forming among the Council Members ranging in size from six, to two dozen or so. Elric scowled. He did not need others to begin considering the possibility of secession, or speaking out against his orders. So far, the damage had been contained to Sol, Aliehs, Corella, and a few unimportant systems. However, if Sol, Aliehs, Corella, and their worlds all seceded and formed their own government, then things could get difficult, especially with the losses the Federation fleet had suffered in recent months. Elric could tell that the Federation was on the brink of great change. Whether it would become the great Empire that he desired it to be, or collapse into dozens of bickering alliances remained to be seen. He resolved to do everything in his power to make it the great Empire that would unite the entire galaxy into one force. However, first, he would need to get the current Federation back on its feet, before other discontent systems had had too much and decided to take the same route as Earth and Mars seemed to be taking. To do that, though, he would need help. Fortunately, he knew exactly who he could turn to.

Elric then retreated back into his own chamber. The door slid closed behind him as he entered his chamber. He suddenly heard the faint rustling of cloths in a closet in the corner of the chamber. He immediately drew his defensive sidearm and waved it around the room. "Show yourself," he barked. "I know you're in here!"

"Put down your gun, Elric," a young feminine voice echoed around the room. Elric immediately dropped the weapon, for he instantly recognized the voice as belonging to an Elvanheim, or Magic Lord or Dragon Lord as Elric and the rest of the galaxy had known them before reading about the battle on Z-1A between the Magic Lords and the Chozo Alliance. Unlike many other races in the galaxy, Elric's people had been engineered by the Magic Lords during their war against the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren, and Ylla. They had used human DNA as the primary template for the creation of Elric's species, and many other elfen species. Some had been bred for beauty, others for strength and yet, others, intelligence. The Star Elves had been bred for a combination of all of these things. As such, they had a gift with languages, were very physically fit, and pleasing to behold. They had not taken part in the fighting against the Chozo, for they were still too young, and had only really known their creators at the beginning of their existence, since the war had seen the near extermination of Magic Lords.

A girl then stepped out from the corner. In her face, she looked to be only fourteen or fifteen Earth years old. She was tall, though, easily taller than Elric, who stood at over seven feet in height, despite her youth. She had blond hair, blue eyes, and a fair skin tone. She also had pointed ears, similar to Elric's but were much longer, strongly resembling a Hylian's ears. She was incredibly beautiful to Elric's eyes, and to the eyes of anyone else who would have looked upon her form. This was not her species' natural form, though, for their forms came to them at their own whims, but forms similar to this was one of their preferred form. The woman was dressed in a golden breastplate that covered the torso, though her arms and legs were both left devoid of any clothing. At her waist was a sword that undoubtedly had a great deal of magical power.

"What are your orders, my lady?" Elric stammered in question.

"Rise, Elric, leader of the Galactic Federation," the teenaged Magic Lord, or Lady, commanded. Elric immediately rose. "Tell me of the affairs of the Galactic Federation," she ordered softly.

Elric immediately told her of the events of the past year. He told her of the incidents onboard the _Bottle Ship_, Sector Zero of the _Bottle Ship_, _Research Facility 777_, and the barely averted disaster onboard the BSL research station. He also told her of the attack on Daiban, which cost the lives of nearly one third of the Galactic Federation Council, as well as Daiban's destruction, which had killed nineteen billion people. He also informed her of the losses to several sector fleets that had been disabled by malfunctioning Aurora Units and marauding Space Pirate forces. The Magic Lady laughed at his exposition. "This must be the worst year of your entire life, Elric," she commented jovially. She then gave off a childish laugh.

"Not entirely," Elric admitted. "So far, everything has been going smoothly, save for the destruction of Daiban. That, I was not expecting."

"That's what happens when you deal with Space Pirates," the Magic Lady chided. "Anyway, on to more important matters. Have you identified all of the Chosen Heroes of Earth yet?"

"Some, my lady…" Elric began.

"Call me Aglara," the Magic Lady interrupted.

"Understood, Aglara," Elric answered. "As for having identified the Chosen Heroes of Earth, I have yet to identify all of them, but I have found a few that appear to be people of interest."

"Tell me their names and descriptions," Aglara commanded.

"Ash Ketchum, a boy of about twelve years old, with black hair and brown eyes. Leaf, a Pokémon Trainer that is the twin sister of Ash with black hair and blue eyes. I don't think he knows that she is as close to him as she is, yet. I have also identified an ape called Donkey Kong who fits the description of one of the Chosen Heroes."

"What about the Chosen Four, the Chosen Pokémon, and the Marios?"

"I have found no trace of the Chosen Four or the Marios on Earth, yet. For the Marios, I heard that they vanished off the face of the Earth over a decade ago or so." That answer almost seemed to relieve Aglara. "However, I have managed to find and identify most of the Chosen Pokémon you told me to find. Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, a yellow mouse-like creature with black stripes on his back and red cheeks, fits the description of one of the Chosen Heroes, as does a certain wild Jigglypuff, a pink puffball, and a wild Lucario. I have no doubt that this Lucario is also one of the Chosen Heroes. In addition, I have identified and located the Pichu you sent me the information on."

"Excellent," Aglara cooed. "This will be very useful to me."

"I was unable to find anything on the psychic Pokémon, Mewtwo, though," Elric informed her a little warily."

"That is of no concern right now. You have actually given me more than I had expected. My current mate, brother-lover Aramon, and I need this information should you fail in your mission."

"What mission do you have for me?"

"Go to Earth and deal with these identified Chosen Heroes now, before they become a nuisance to me, and to you, later."

Elric's eyes flashed at the statement. Aglara confused his shocked expression as one of being worried about getting to Earth rather than his surprise that a group of humans, Pokémon, and an ape could be a threat to them. "You must do this," she insisted harshly. "I am mighty and powerful, but I am not invincible, alone. The others are too cowardly to strike now, while the enemy is weak, but I will not make that mistake. _I_ shall deal with the heroes now. Do this for me, and I will ensure that you remain the ruler of the Galactic Federation for all eternity, for I can give you the gift of eternal life."

"Understood, my lady, Aglara," Elric replied, genuflecting before Aglara. Suddenly, Aglara disappeared, accompanied with a snap of air filling in the space that she had just vacated. Elric knew what he had to do. He immediately went to his computer and activated the ship's intercom. He then called, "Secretary Gabbie, get Inspector Kreatz and Commander Mauk in here, immediately."

"At once, Chairman," a female voice answered.

Elric waited for a few minutes until he heard a chime sound. "Enter," he bellowed. Immediately, the door slid open and both Kreatz and Mauk entered the room.

"You called us, Chairman?" Kreatz asked.

"Yes," Elric answered. "I have a special assignment for you two." He then took out two files and gave one to each of them. They each opened the files and saw the names and faces of Ash, Mia, Donkey Kong, and others. "Inspector Kreatz of the Federation Police and the Watchmen, and Commander Mauk of the Federation Marine Corps and also the Watchmen, you are tasked with traveling to Earth and apprehending these people and creatures as quickly as possible. I have something that needs doing, but will be arriving at Earth in order to support you soon. Until then, you have jurisdiction on Earth. You are answerable only to me in this regard. You won't even have to worry about Cyrus for this mission. Do you understand?"

They both nodded. Mauk then thumbed through the files and asked, "Chairman, may I ask what crimes these people have committed? I see that some of these guys are only kids."

"They have helped spread sedition around Earth, and are Pokémon Trainers," Elric responded. "As such, they have dangerous bioweapons at best. At worst, they have used such weapons against others. Now go. There's a transport waiting for you down in the hangar bay."

That seemed to satisfy Mauk's question. "Will that be all?" they asked.

Elric nodded. Kreatz and Mauk then proceeded to leave Elric's office. Elric then proceeded to call once more on the intercom, saying, "Captain, this is Elric. Once the scheduled transport departs, take the starship to coordinates four-by-two-by-eight-by-six."

"But sir, that takes us into unknown space, where several ships have disappeared," the captain responded.

"I know that Captain, just do it. The Federation is in dire need of help and some friends can be reached in that location," Elric retorted.

"Understood, Chairman," the captain responded sheepishly. "Course heading laid in and we are underway."

"Good," Elric responded. He then sat back. _Man, the information we got on Z-1A about the locations of the N'Kren and Ylla homeworlds had better be accurate_, he thought harshly. He had not wanted to make first contact with two of the elder races by groveling before them, begging for their help and looking pathetic, but he knew more than anyone what would happen if Earth seceded. Earth had much more than just its ships and defense platforms defending it. If he were to conquer the planet, he would need a special edge, one that only one of the elder races could grant him.

Meanwhile, in a realm outside of the normal Nintendo Universe, Aglara sat with her brother, and current mate, a teenaged Magic Lord male named Aramon that had taken the form of a male elf in his early twenties with red hair and blue eyes. In front of them was a crystal ball that showed Elric siphoning off his assignment to two members of their servant races, another Star Elf and a Simian.

"What is he doing?" Aramon asked in an annoyed tone similar to so many teenagers throwing a fit. "I thought you specifically commanded him to take this assignment himself!"

"Helping us in our long-term goals, if all goes well," Aglara responded calmly. "For Elric is going to make contact with the N'Kren and the Ylla and try to get their help in dealing with the current crisis that the Galactic Federation currently faces."

"But that will bring the other two elder races back into contact with the Luminoth and the Ascended Chozo! Also, any remaining non-ascended Chozo are likely to be drawn to the Federation as well."

Aglara then gave a smile. "And that will spell the end of the alliance that brought our people to the brink of extinction," Aramon said in a sinister tone.

"What do you…wait, I see, now," Aramon exclaimed as he knew what her lover was getting at. "Yeah, you're right. This is more than we could have ever hoped for!" The two sibling lovers then sat back and laughed as they continued to gaze into the crystal ball, barely able to wait for the mayhem that was about to unfold.

Samus Aran's gunship emerged from subspace at her intended destination. Immediately upon emerging from subspace, she saw two Unicorn-class destroyers, the _Kirin_ and the _Indrik_, outside her cockpit window a few hundred kilometers away. She then looked down at her sensor screens and found several ships flitting about near the ship. They were small, about the size of transports. Samus immediately recognized the ships as being Space Pirate Assault Transports. Samus made certain to double-check her stealth systems to make sure that they were functioning properly. Once she was sure that they were fine, she activated her long-range sensors and took deep scans of the _Kirin_ and _Indrik_. She found no Star Elf life-signs onboard the starships. However, she did detect several hundred Space Pirate life-signs onboard the starships. It also appeared as if none of the escape pods had been jettisoned. She was both saddened, but also a little hopeful at what she had found. While she was saddened at the deaths of the crewmembers of the ships, this was also a great opportunity for her to find the base of operations for the Space Pirates and she might not get another chance to find it and take it out.

She slowed her ship as she got close to one of the destroyers, the _Kirin_. The _Kirin_ had suffered little external damage during its capture. Samus took readings and saw that the ship's Aurora Unit had vented the atmosphere of the entire ship, causing the crews to suffocate. The atmosphere had since been replenished so that the Space Pirate captors currently onboard the ship would not suffocate as the original crew had. Samus immediately took another scan and saw that the hangar bay doors were closing, as the ships that had once been orbiting the destroyer were now boarding the ship. She knew that she would not arrive fast enough to be able to board the ship without managing to blast through the hangar bay doors and alert everyone onboard the ship that there was an intruder onboard. However, she could latch her ship onto the destroyer and ride it to the location of the Space Pirate base.

She approached the _Kirin_ very carefully, wanting to make sure that she did not set off any of the destroyer's sensors and alert the Space Pirates to her presence. "Samus, I'd really like to know what you're doing," Adam blurted in over the speakers.

"I'm going to latch the gunship onto the _Kirin_ and ride it to its destination, which will hopefully be the Space Pirates' base of operations," Samus explained.

"And what if that area is crawling with Space Pirate warships?" Adam asked tentatively.

"Then let's hope this ship's stealth systems are up to the task of shielding this ship from being detected," Samus answered. She then sat back in her chair as she noticed the stars out in space become long lines. The ship was accelerating to warp speed. She then saw a flash of purple energy, indicating the passing through a window into subspace. Then, Samus sat and waited for the ship to emerge at its destination, which she hoped would be at the Space Pirates' new base of operations.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Elric stood inside his quarters as _Federation One_ made its way through subspace towards what Elric hoped to be the N'Kren homeworld. He knew that it would be difficult to convince the N'Kren and/or the Ylla to render the Federation any assistance, but he knew that he would need their services. Without them, he would almost certainly lose Earth, and likely other worlds as well. While the destruction of Daiban had justified a great deal of the new rules and regulations that he had imposed on the worlds of the Federation, it had mainly been a means to take from the wealthier worlds and give to the not so wealthy worlds since many of the poorer worlds had a larger number of people. Most of the colonies which exported many goods did not really mind one way or the other since they shipped out most of their products anyway. Though he had strongly urged such worlds to lower their prices on their exports. Worlds that were generally self-sufficient and did not take in too many essential imports, such as Earth, felt the weight of Elric's regulations a great deal more. He was also concerned as to how the N'Kren or Ylla would respond to what he had done in the Federation. The good news was that the Luminoth had yet to speak out against Elric's decrees, but they were mostly an insular people. The problem was that the representatives of the Federation that went to help the Luminoth were mostly humans from Earth or one of its colonies, and had been chosen by the previous administration. So far, he had managed to keep a lid on Earth's discontent with the current regulations. And if he could limit the damage to Earth, then he would be okay. After all, the Chosen Heroes were on Earth, and if he got rid of them, his masters would give him the power to rule the Galactic Federation forever and make a truly safe and secure society. The only issue would be making sure that none of the elder races knew of his deal with the Magic Lords, or his species' connection to them. If they found out about his connection to them, then he would almost certainly be killed. And that would be the best-case scenario for the Federation.

"Sir, we are going to exit subspace in a few minutes," a voice rang in over the comm.

"Excellent," he said to himself. He then pushed a button on the radio in his office and replied, "I'll be right up."

Elric then got up and left his office, proceeding to make his way up to the bridge. On the way, he reminisced about the Council's reaction to him leaving subspace just outside of the Sol solar system and jumping all the way across the galaxy just to meet some mythical race that might be able to help them out of their jam, but if they refused, could easily wipe out the rest of the Galactic Federation Council. Elric was hoping that the presence of the Federation Council would not give the N'Kren any ideas. The tablet that had told them about he N'Kren, however, gave the impression that while they were relatively militaristic, though not imperialist and, according to the information found on Z-1A, viewed honor as one of the most important tenets of their culture. Elric merely hoped that he could use this to his gain in the negotiations, or rather, prostrating of himself before them, as others would see it.

Upon arriving at the bridge, he saw long lines outside the bridge window and a glowing portal off in the distance. Good, he had managed to time his arrival right at the time they were about to jump out of subspace and into normal space. The ship and its escort, two Asgard-class heavy cruisers, then exited subspace and appeared over a large blue and gray planet out the window. He then held his breath for a moment. He knew that if the N'Kren were around and they did not welcome the Federation, that there was no way that the two heavy cruisers would be able to protect _Federation One_, especially if the N'Kren ships were as powerful as Elric believed.

He stared out the forward view port window and found a large planet staring back at him. Some of the lights on the surface of the planet flickered on and off at regular intervals. For a second, he thought he saw a distortion over one of the continents of the planet, but he shook off the feeling. He looked down at the officers manning the various consoles and bellowed, "Get a bio-scan of that planet. Also, scan for any other starships in the area."

The captain, a humanoid male with blue skin, brown hair, and yellow eyes glanced over at Elric and asked, "Is this the right place? Are we at the N'Kren homeworld?"

"You tell me," Elric answered smartly. "I'm just following the coordinates based on the information we found on Z-1A." He then looked down at the sensor console and its officer, and called, "Anything?"

"Yes, Chairman," came the response from a young Catgirl, a female humanoid feline-like creature that looked human save for two ears on the top of her head that looked like the ears of an Earth cat. "We have detected almost three billion sentient lifeforms of the same species down on the planet. There are also massive lifeform readings of other kinds, indicating a large variety of plant and animal life as well. It's not as diverse as planets like Earth, but it's closer than what we've seen on other worlds."

Elric winced and then grimaced at the mention of Earth. He then turned to the communications console and commanded the young human male stationed at the console, "Lieutenant, open a channel to the surface. Tell them that I wish to speak with whoever is in charge of this world. Tell them, that we have come asking for assistance and that we are allies of both the Luminoth and the Chozo."

The lieutenant did as he was ordered to and then the bridge was quiet for a few seconds. "Anything?" Elric asked.

"Nothing yet, sir," the human lieutenant responded.

It was then that the Catgirl called out, "Sirs, I am detecting multiple energy distortions forming all around us!"

"What?" Elric and the captain both cried. They looked out the window and saw a field of energy form for an instant, but quickly saw the energy field outlined a vessel. Within a second, a starship had appeared merely four kilometers in front of them. Then another vessel decloaked to the right of the first. Soon, a third vessel decloaked to first ship's left. Elric gazed at the ships. They were dwarfed by the massive _Federation One_, which was likely several times as large as the other starships, but that gave him no comfort, for he had a feeling that if these ships were N'Kren ships, they could blow apart his ships without even breaking a sweat, even if Elric's forces were to launch the first attack. As for the ships, they looked boxy, and if Elric had to guess, he gathered that they were likely in the ballpark of around seven hundred to eight hundred meters long. They did not seem to be all that elegant, but he figured that that was likely due to the fact that they were designed for battle, not for looking pretty.

"Sirs, I'm getting massive power readings coming from those ships!" the sensor officer called out.

"Are they charging weapons?" the captain asked.

"I don't know," the Catgirl responded.

"Sir, I'm picking up a transmission from the lead starship, both visual and audio," the human communications officer alerted the captain and Elric.

"Put it up!" they both commanded.

The image of the three starships out in space was instantly replaced with the image of the interior of one of the starships, what Elric figured to be the bridge of one of the other starships. Standing in the center of the screen was a large, broad male reptilian alien. This being had green, scaly skin, and reminded Elric of Earth alligators or crocodiles, minus the large snout. He looked to be large and powerful. He looked like he could easily overpower a human or a Star Elf in physical combat. Soon, the being spoke, "I am Hi'Gor, captain of the N'Kren starship _Da'Kal_. Why have you come here?"

_Right down to business_, Elric thought. "I am Chairman Elric, leader of the Galactic Federation," Elric answered. "I have come, requesting an audience with your leaders. We are in dire straights since the destruction of our capital world, and our more productive worlds are on the brink of rebelling against us. We request any assistance you and your people can spare."

Hi'Gor did not answer at first. Elric began to worry and a bead of sweat formed at his brow. The sensor officer soon cried out, "Sir, there's another ship decloaking!"

Elric switched off the image on the main viewscreen and immediately had it show the newly decloaking starship. This ship was a tremendous work of art compared to the other N'Kren ships. It strongly resembled a temple, rather than a starship. It was beautiful, with golden structures framing the ship, along with silver and platinum structures as well. It also had two forward-sweeping and curling golden wings as well, though the wings looked to merely be cosmetic. It was far more comely than the boxy N'Kren ships, and also dwarfed them, looking to be nearly the size of _Federation One_. "Sir," the Catgirl sensor officer reported, "I am reading a different energy signature than those of the N'Kren starships."

"I'm also picking up a transmission coming from the new arrival to the N'Kren starships," the human communications officer reported. "Our translator software can't translate it, though none of the ships are doing anything to encrypt their transmissions." After a few moments, the officer called back, "Sir, the _Freya_ and _Freyr_ are requesting instructions. What should we tell them?"

"Tell them to keep their shields up, but to not charge weapons," the Captain responded. "We don't want the other ships to think that we have any hostile intentions."

"Understood," the officer responded.

As the officer went to go about his duties, the Captain went over to Elric and asked, "So, what do you think?"

Elric was getting worried. He was worried that the unknown ship was a Ylla vessel, considering that the ship had opened a channel with the N'Kren vessel and the N'Kren were not acting as if the new ship was unwelcome. If anything, they had been very welcoming of it. If they knew, however, of his species' connection to the Magic Lords, mortal enemies of both of these races, then the Galactic Federation may well be annihilated within minutes with the destruction of _Federation One_.

Just then, another subspace window opened in front of them, and another starship came onto the scene. This ship was of medium size, about four to five hundred meters in length. It had a single structure in the center of the ship with large wings curling around the front of the structure in a circular shape. Elric immediately identified the starship as being a Luminoth ship. Everyone on the bridge of _Federation One_ held their breath as the communications officer informed them, "Sir, the Luminoth cruiser is opening a channel to all starships. I'm putting them on."

The image of a Luminoth soon appeared on the screen. The Luminoth looked like a humanoid moth with brownish-gold skin. Elric recognized it as being U-Mos, the Sentinel of the Luminoth. Elric's worry increased, for U-Mos was the leader of the Luminoth, and a powerful psychic, and a member of one of the most powerful of the known elder races. Not only that, but the Luminoth had developed the Light Beam, a weapon that was capable of inflicting fatal damage even to a Magic Lord in a few shots.

U-Mos then spoke to all present, saying, "This is U-Mos to all Galactic Federation, N'Kren, and Ylla vessels. Do not fire on each other. We can all be allies." He then directed his ship's transmission to the N'Kren and Ylla ships, saying, "The new arrivals are from the Galactic Federation, one of the two current major superpowers in galactic politics in the Milky Way galaxy. They have recently suffered a disaster when their capital world was destroyed. In addition, several of their starships are in grave danger due to a computer virus that has filtered throughout the network of the computer cores of many of their vessels and even on some worlds."

"Then why come to us?" Hi'Gor asked condescendingly, though his condescension was directed towards the Federation and not U-Mos. "Don't they have farming and fertile worlds to draw resources from? Daiban wasn't exactly a self-sufficient world."

"Yes," U-Mos admitted. "But they are having trouble with said worlds. Some of it is their doing, but some of it is the stubbornness of the worlds in question."

"I can guarantee that our leaders will not authorize the use of military force should they seek out help to bring their unruly worlds into compliance," Hi'Gor declared.

"We can guarantee that as well," another voice, undoubtedly that of the Ylla captain, also answered.

"But would you at least give some support in the form of security against the Space Pirates or in the form of food and medical aid?" U-Mos asked.

"Why can't you aid them? Or the Chozo?" the Ylla Captain asked.

"Space Pirates?" Hi'Gor roared.

U-Mos nodded towards Hi'Gor. "Yes," he answered. "The Space Pirates are the ones that destroyed Daiban." He then directed his attention to the Ylla captain, a butterfly-like humanoid that looked strangely similar to a Desbrachian, and responded, "We cannot offer them more aid because we, ourselves, are on the brink of extinction. We suffered an attack of our own and fought a protracted war against an implacable foe. We barely have enough members left to stave off extinction. I must do everything I can for my people. The Federation understands this. That is why they have come to you. As for the Chozo, most of them have either already ascended or are now dead. I know of only a small handful of Chozo that are still alive that are not ascended, and they are spread throughout the entire galaxy."

The Ylla captain focused on U-Mos and then to Hi'Gor and nodded. "Fine, we will discuss things with them, if you are willing to do so, Hi'Gor."

"I'll have to contact our leaders before we begin, but I think that we will likely at least allow them to land and listen to their request," Hi'Gor responded. A few moments went by, and then Hi'Gor appeared back on the screen and said, "Command okays their arrival and the presentation of their request, but it does not guarantee that they will okay said request."

"Understood," U-Mos answered. He then went to open a channel back to _Federation One_.

Back on the massive starliner, Elric saw the image of U-Mos reappear back on the forward screen. "The N'Kren and the Ylla will be willing to hear your request, on the planet. I will be your mediator and security. However, this request must be made by your leader. That means that Elric must be the one to present the issue before the N'Kren and Ylla, not an ambassador. Is that acceptable?"

"It is," Elric answered cautiously. He knew that he would have no choice, but he was still uneasy about his presence among three races that had managed to bring his creators, his gods, to the brink of extinction.

"They are awaiting your arrival, sir," U-Mos informed him.

Elric then turned to the captain and said, "Get my transport ready for departure, and get tell Xeres and Isol to get up here. They will be my personal guards down on that planet."

"Understood, sir," the captain answered. Elric then left the bridge so he could go down to the planet and beg the help of the N'Kren and Ylla for assistance in dealing with the current crisis.

The _Kirin_ and the _Indrik_ emerged from subspace a few hundred kilometers away from the space station _Moreau_. On the bridge of the _Moreau_, Ridley stood and watched as the ships emerged from warp. He grinned at the sight of them. _Two more ships to add to my fleet_, he thought sadistically. He had special plans for his new fleet. While his fleet, which numbered currently thirty-six capital ships, however many fighters and other support ships they had onboard, and a few transports that had survived from the previous Space Pirate fleet, was powerful for an individual warlord, Ridley was not satisfied. Despite the recent losses, the Federation still had almost ten thousand warships, and not all of them had Aurora Units that his clone of Aurora Unit Zero could neutralize, to work with. And that was before one included the nationalized militaries of the various individual members of the Galactic Federation. The Space Pirates would not be able to defeat any real Federation assault force that they could easily muster should the Space Pirates be found. Still, Ridley could not help but smile. He was gathering the necessary pieces. More Space Pirates were being cloned inside the station, and these were not mere Zebesians. These were Urtragian Space Pirate Troopers: highly competent and intelligent troopers that were given the latest and greatest in equipment. While the higher-ranking Pirates were given superior weaponry and armor, even the basic Urtragian Space Pirate Trooper was a match for Galactic Federation Marines. Still, even the Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers had their uses, as demonstrated in the assault on Galactic Federation Headquarters.

After a few moments, one of the Space Pirate officers manning one of the consoles called out, "Lord Ridley, Commander P'Qash is hailing us, saying that the ships were taken successfully."

"Good," Ridley said. "Now tell him and D'Mai to dock the ships with the station so we can load new crew onto the starships."

"Yes, my lord," the officer responded.

Ridley then returned his focus to the starships. He then narrowed his eyes onto the hull of the starships. For the briefest of instants, he thought that he could see something on the hull of one of the ships. He then shook off the thought. If the Federation had been foolish enough to send a spy to try to infiltrate the base and destroy it, then they would be in for a big surprise. However, that Federation "spy" was no mere spy, but a bounty hunter; the one hunter that even the great Lord Ridley feared: Samus Aran.

Samus watched as the _Kirin_ approached the _Moreau_. She saw the thirty-four other ships off in the distance. All of them, save for the one Orpheon-class frigate, were all of Galactic Federation design. She smiled at the sight. She had found the Space Pirates' base of operations. And it seemed as if all of the ships that they had stolen were still here. She debated whether or not she would try to board the _Kirin_ and board the _Moreau_ through the _Kirin's_ boarding ramp. Samus quickly thought better of that idea. Chances are that the two Unicorn-class destroyers would take on hundreds, if not thousands, in new crew. Her best bet was to find some isolated area of the space station in the distance and hope to board it undetected.

She quickly activated her ship's passive sensors and took a scan of the station. Her primary goal was to find the locations of the hangar bays and possibly any boarding hatches and ramps. Cross sections of the station soon appeared on her console and she found that the ship was headed straight towards the main hangar bay and the main external docking hatches. She also noted that the bridge was on the top of the station, while Main Engineering was in the bowels of the station. She grimaced. The trip to Main Engineering would almost certainly be a difficult one, to say the least. She did note, though, that the station had little in the form of weapons ports, and only moderate shielding, which meant that it was quite vulnerable to an attack by a starship or a fleet of ships. She activated her suit and then left the cockpit and proceeded to the back of her ship. There, she connected herself to one of the miniature factories onboard her gunship so she could ensure that she was fully armed and had full power to her suit and shields. Once her suit was fully powered, she returned to the cockpit.

Samus looked out the window once more and saw the large station growing in size as the ship her gunship was attached to approached. She performed a diagnostic check on the stealth systems on her gunship and found that they were still functioning properly. Once that was finished, she decided that it was time for her to disengage her ship from the _Kirin_ and to make her way slowly to the station. The cabin shuddered as she disengaged her gunship from the _Kirin_ and proceeded to make her way towards the _Moreau_. As she approached the station she risked a deeper scan of the station. Adam was quick to caution her against a deeper scan, saying, "Samus, a deep scan increases the chances of the Space Pirates detecting your gunship by at least twenty percent."

"I know," Samus replied. "But I need to know what is onboard that station and if they're about to move out. We have a chance to wipe out the Space Pirate remnants and we won't get another shot at this."

"I understand that," Adam told her, "but if we are detected, then we will lose any chance we have of boarding that station, and by the time we send out the call for Federation reinforcements, the Space Pirates will be long gone from this station."

"I know the risks, Adam," Samus replied as she performed the scan.

It was not long before the results of the deep scan appeared on her console. The scans returned that the station was identified as the space station _Moreau_. Her sensors also detected over ten thousand Space Pirates onboard. There were also almost half a million other Space Pirates of various types that appeared to be in stasis onboard the station. She suspected that they could be awakened at a moment's notice if she were detected.

"That's a lot of Pirates," Adam noted with a hint of apprehension in his voice.

Samus gave no response and instead resumed her focus on her sensors. Her scans informed her that the clone of Aurora Unit Zero was not on the bridge, but was located somewhere in the center of the station. She figured that it was in Main Engineering. She also suspected that the Aurora Unit was under heavy guard and, unlike the real Aurora Unit Zero, was likely going to do its best to actively defend itself against any attack that she launched at it. An idea soon came to her and she looked down at the eye on the screen that represented Adam. Before she could verbalize her idea, she noticed that the ships outside the station seemed to be lining up, as if they were about to be departing the station. She gritted her teeth. She could not; no, _would not_ allow the Space Pirates to escape with a fleet like this. As she studied the situation, a plan began to form in her mind.

She turned to Adam once more and told him, "I think that we might be able to end the Space Pirate threat in one fell swoop."

"How?" Adam asked.

"I'll board the station and use my Scan Visor to hack into the station's systems," Samus explained. "Now, my Scan Visor isn't nearly as good as the visor I had before my X infection, but I've been making some modifications to the visor to increase its hacking ability. I should be able to hack into the system and have it play back an endless loop on the sensor displays. Assuming there aren't any Pirates staring out the windows once the Federation fleet arrives, then their first alert to the attack will be the sounds of battle as the Federation attacks with the element of surprise on its side."

"And how will you contact the Federation fleet to allow them to find the Pirates?"

"I won't," the bounty hunter answered. "You will. Once I get onboard the station, detach the ship from the hull and fly away from the station, say about a few hundred kilometers or so. From there, send a tight wave transmission to Admiral Dane and the _G.F.S. Olympus_. His fleet is the closest one here, and should be of sufficient size to take out the Space Pirate fleet, and likely the station as well."

After a few seconds, Adam tentatively answered, "It would seem. However, there are still a great many things that can go wrong, here, Samus. You know that if you run into trouble, that you will be on your own while I take the time to send the message to the Federation fleet."

"I know," Samus responded.

She then focused her attention towards the station. She guided her ship to the outer ring of the station, searching for a good place to latch onto the station's hull. She found one on a metal patch that looked as if there was supposed to be a plate there, but the station's builders had not gotten around to welding it on yet. Samus eased her ship onto the metal patch and after a few seconds, a shudder vibrated throughout the cabin, indicating that her ship had made contact. Before leaving the cabin and activating the boarding hatch and ramp, Samus told Adam, "Once I board the station, make sure that you detach the ship from the station and get at least a few hundred kilometers away from here. Then send the transmission to both Admiral Dane and to Earth and then _Federation One_ informing them of what we have found. Also, tell them to send ships that are _not_ equipped with Aurora Units. We don't want to run the risk of the Pirates infecting any of the attacking ships during the battle."

"And what about after I've sent the transmission to the Federation?"

"Then come back to the station and land wherever you have to so I can get to you."

"Understood, lady," Adam replied.

Samus then rose from the pilot's station and made her way to the center of her gunship. Samus went over to the wall, where there was a red light near a button. She pushed the button and a small whine was heard as the cutting beams from the ventral surface of her ship cut their way through the station's hull. After a few seconds, the whine stopped and the light turned green, indicating that the beams had breached the station's hull. She then went over to the hatch. Once she had arrived at the hatch, she opened the hatch and rode the beam down into the station.

After she arrived inside the station, she quickly went to the nearest wall and scanned the corridor. So far, there was no one around. She soon felt the rush of air flow past her as Adam detached the gunship from the hull of the station. She then glanced up at the walls and saw an unlit red line on them. Good, the hull breach had not set off any alarms. At least, she had not set off any audible or visual alarms, yet.

On the Control Deck of the station, Ridley sat as an automated alert came in over the sensors. The officer manning the internal sensor console looked back and reported, "Sir, we have a problem in Sector Eight of the outer habitation ring."

"What sort of problem?" the pterodactyl-like dragon asked.

"It seems to be an atmospheric decompression," the trooper responded. "I am activating emergency force fields now." The Space Pirate Trooper typed a few commands into the console and then reported, "Decompression of the sector has ceased. We are repressurizing it, now."

Ridley grunted. "Send down an engineering team with a bodyguard of Super Zebesians to examine the breach."

"My lord?" the trooper asked.

"Do it," Ridley commanded. "I have a feeling that something's happening. Tell the others to file onto the newly captured destroyers and tell the troops to prepare boarding the captured Kraken-class troopship. I also want the rest of the captured starships to be fully crewed within the hour. I want all contingencies to be taken care of."

"Lord Ridley, it's not the first time, some metal plate broke off the station," the Trooper told him. "The Federation really did not do a great job assembling the station. It looks like they were in a hurry and took a great number of shortcuts to get this station completed on schedule."

"I know," Ridley almost grumbled in response. He, too, had been less than pleased with the shoddy construction work done in building the station. "It's just that our luck has never been so good for so long. Sooner or later, we'll be found, and when we are, I want to have a way out so that we won't be decimated again the way we were at the end of the Phazon Crisis and after the destruction of Zebes." Ridley then added softly, "Frankly, I'm surprised the Federation hasn't found us already, and has not put forth a greater effort to locate and destroy us after we destroyed Daiban." Little did Ridley know just how wrong he was, and how close the Space Pirates were to being wiped out once more.

Samus felt the rush of air stop as emergency force fields activated and covered the breach. She quickly made her way down the corridor, hoping to find a map station somewhere on the station before she got too far into her quest. She worried that Adam would not remain undetected forever; especially once the Pirates were finished inspecting destroyed metal plate that Samus's ship had cut through so she could board. She could hear the distant echo of footfalls and voices off in the distance. It sounded like a group of Space Pirates arguing amongst themselves. Samus decided to make herself scarce so that she would not be discovered quickly. Samus ducked down another corridor and took that path to begin her trek through the station.

Back in the other corridor, the team of Space Pirate engineers and their Super Zebesian bodyguard came along. The engineers examined the wall and soon found the source of the breach. The metal plate that had been cut through looked more like it had been blown off, rather than cut through. That was likely a result of Samus's gunship taking off. The engineers grumbled and muttered, "Friggin' sloppy Federation construction. The Federation makes so many other things great, why'd they friggin' skimp on this place?"

"Probably because they were doin' illegal research here, maybe?" a second engineer responded.

"That still doesn't justify this shoddy a job," the first engineer retorted.

While the others were arguing, a third engineer went over to the breach and examined it closely. He concluded, "It looks like the metal plate here just broke off."

"No duh," the first engineer responded. "Tell us something we don't know."

The engineer took a pair of binoculars and pressed them to his eyes. "Well, I can see the plate in the distance. It looks to have a hole cut into it."

This got the attention of the other engineers. The first one turned to one of the Super Zebesians and told him, "Activate your bio-scanners. Scan for any non-Pirate lifeforms on the station."

"As you command," came the response from the Super Zebesian. The Zebesian then produced a device and held it in both of his hands in front of him. He then slowly turned around, extending the device. Lights flashed across the small screen as the Zebesian Space Pirate swept the area for any unauthorized lifeforms. After a few seconds, he turned back to the engineers and said, "Scanners detect no lifeforms in the vicinity."

"Then it's likely that the metal plate was faulty to begin with," the first engineer concluded. "Well, let's get back to Lord Ridley and make our report. Nothing to see here."

The Space Pirate team then proceeded to backtrack their way to the Control Deck of the station.

Not too far in the opposite direction, Samus made her way through the station. She activated her Scan Visor and scanned the walls to see if there was a computer access terminal anywhere close by. Since this was a Galactic Federation research station, she believed that her current Scan Visor would be sufficient to hack into the computer systems, assuming the Space Pirates had not altered them too much when they took the station. Samus looked out one of the windows and hoped that Adam was making sending his message to the Federation as quickly as possible.

The bounty hunter continued down the dark, gray corridor, scanning the walls. So far, she found no defenses, or computer terminals. She began to grimace. She had hoped to come across a computer terminal or map station much sooner. She knew that Adam would be far enough to send his transmission to the Federation pretty soon. She wanted to do her best to make the station blind, deaf, and mute before the fleet arrived to finish it off, just in case there were other Space Pirate starships elsewhere in the galaxy. She felt that her best bet would be to take the bridge first. She began to increase her pace through the corridor, knowing that she could no longer afford to worry about remaining undetected. At the end of the corridor, she saw a door with a white energy field over it.

She pointed her arm cannon at the door and activated her Ice Beam. However, when she went to fire, she felt a sharp, freezing jolt of pain shoot through her arm. She grimaced and suppressed a cry as she fired the bolt at the shield. The shield collapsed, but the door did not immediately open. She did not pay attention to the door, though, for she felt as if her arm was about to freeze solid. She reflexively deactivated her Ice Beam and activated her other Chozo beam weapons, particularly her Plasma Beam, and charged a plasma blast. She could feel the heat of the plasma blast heating up her arm and before long, feeling returned to it. Before firing the blast of plasma, though, she switched to her Ice Missiles, and as her arm cannon opened to fire the missiles, her Plasma Beam powered down. A transmission from Adam then came in through her headset, "Samus, I detected a fluctuation in your bio-signs. Is everything okay?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"It is now," Samus answered, breathing heavily. "Have you sent the transmission?"

"I have," Adam confirmed. "I know that Admiral Dane received it, though I did not reach _Federation One_. What happened to you just now?"

"My Ice Beam nearly froze my arm solid," Samus answered.

"Your Metroid DNA must be taking priority. The protection against the cold that the Core-X of the SA-X must have diminished the longer you have gone without ingesting any X Parasites," Adam surmised.

Samus suspected as much. "Be careful, Samus," Adam cautioned. "You are still in enemy territory. What are your orders?"

"Remain outside until the fleet arrives. Then come in to help me. However, I'm going to be going after the Aurora Unit, so if the station begins to come under attack, don't hesitate to leave," Samus directed. "And don't keep the fleet from opening fire on the station. The destruction of the Space Pirates is top priority, here."

"Understood, Samus," Adam replied. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Adam," Samus answered as she shut off her radio. With the conversation finished, Samus made her way to the door and it opened as she approached. As it opened, she ran on through.

On the other side of the door was a room that looked to contain a recharge and a map station. Inside the room were eight Zebesian Space Pirate soldiers. The blue Zebesian troopers immediately turned towards the door when it opened and when Samus came through the door, they opened fire. Samus, seeing them as soon as the door opened, managed to dive out of the way of most of the initial barrage of blue energy pulses. She then leveled her arm cannon at the Zebesians and returned fire with her stacked Plasma and Wave Beams. The green rippling beam of energy struck the lead Zebesian and burned a hole through his chest. The Zebesian immediately fell over, a smoking hole in his chest. Samus then proceeded to target a second Zebesian and fired another green pulse of energy. The second Zebesian then fell to the ground, joining the first one in death.

That was when the other Zebesians decided to target Samus with their plasma missile launchers from their arm cannon-like attachments to their left arms, replacing the normal claws of their hands. Samus dove to the ground and dodged a few of the missiles, but three others managed to strike her suit. Their explosions forced her backwards with each strike. The other Zebesians then followed their strike with a barrage of energy pulses from their right claws. Samus, however, managed to avoid most of the energy blasts. However, the few that struck her inflicted noticeable damage to her suit's shields. She then took quick shots at the Zebesians as they darted around the room. She managed to fell two of the Zebesians, shooting them in the torso, and she shot the left arm off of a third. Her plasma blast cauterized the wound, but the Pirate was still taken out of the fight as he fell to the floor, crying out in agony. Samus ended his suffering with a single blast of plasma to the head, vaporizing said head. Samus quickly realized that she could not afford to waste any more time with these Zebesians and decided to end the battle quickly.

She switched to her missiles and charged a Diffusion Missile. As she charged her missile, the three remaining Zebesians unleashed their plasma missile upon Samus. Samus dodged the missiles and they were unable to score a hit on her before she unleashed her Diffusion Missile on the Pirates. The missile struck one of the Pirates and exploded. The diffusion wave spread out from the Zebesian and engulfed the others, freezing all three Pirates solid. Samus then charged her stacked Plasma Beam and fired at the Zebesians and promptly shattered them, one right after the other.

Once the battle had concluded, Samus went over to the stations in the center of the room. There was both a recharge and a map station. This was perfect. Samus quickly checked her HUD and found that five Energy Tanks that had been drained in the battle. She almost smirked. She _had_ to do something to augment the defenses of her new Omega Fusion Suit once this mission was over. She went over to the small chamber and stood in the center circle. Immediately, a field of energy surrounded her and she felt energy flow into her. After a few seconds, her shields and missiles were fully replenished. She then stepped out of the chamber and proceeded to the map station. Once there, she plugged her arm cannon into the outlet and downloaded the map of the research station _Moreau_ into her logbook. Upon seeing the name of the station, she thought that she recognized the name _Moreau_ from a dossier of Federation black projects. She shrugged off the thought, for now. She would find out more when she reached the bridge and hacked into the station's main computer. With that, Samus proceeded to the exit on past the station and continued on her way to the Control Deck.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Samus ran down the corridor outside the recharge and map room, quickly scanning her new map of research station _Moreau_. She noted that the bridge was on the dorsal structure of the station and that she had a long series of corridors to cross before being able to gain access to a turbolift that could take her up to the bridge. She scanned the corridor for any computer terminals that would allow her access to information inside the station's database. She spied a terminal on the far side of the corridor, just before it branched into two different directions. She headed over to the terminal and when she arrived, she input a few commands.

After putting in the initial commands, a screen showing the layout of the station appeared. The display was both in English and in an unknown language that the software inside Samus's current suit was unable to translate. She surmised that it was likely Urtragian since most of the higher-ranking Space Pirates were from the planet Urtraghus. She then typed in another series of commands and the display was soon completely in English. The display stated that the station had a set of defensive shields, but that they were two way, so in order for the Pirates to be able to evacuate the station, they would have to lower the shields over certain areas, which would leave the station vulnerable to attack. In addition, the station possessed no defensive weaponry of any kind. Samus smiled upon reading this little bit of information about the station, for without weapons, the station only had the fleet with which to defend it, and she suspected that the Pirates would not risk their ships to protect an unarmed station, even if it had been their new base of operations. She then looked at the internal security systems and found that there were little to no cameras or sensors inside the station.

Samus then scrolled down to the section that read, _Original Mission of Space Station Moreau_. Upon selecting it, text began to fill the screen and Samus read it, hoping to get some idea of what was going on here. As she read the text, she found that the original purpose of the _Moreau_ had been to house and grow Zebesian Space Pirates as a part of the Federation Special Forces based upon the Space Pirates that she, Adam, and her clone had destroyed a year ago. All of the sensors had originally been configured to ensuring that the Zebesians were in good health as they were grown and/or kept in stasis until needed for deployment. Originally, only 250,000 Zebesians had been grown, but Samus suspected that that number was growing.

Samus then checked the rest of the signs and prompts on the screen to find out if there was any access to the computer's systems on this terminal. There were not; however, the screen did say that she could gain access to the entire station's systems and database from the computer inside Main Engineering. In addition, Main Engineering was the location of the cloned Aurora Unit that was infecting Aurora Units within the entire Galactic Federation. With that knowledge, she deactivated the terminal and made her way down to the fork in the corridor. She decided to alter her previous course of action and head down to Main Engineering to cut out the heart of the station, and neutralize the threat of the clone Aurora Unit, once and for all.

Once she came to the fork, she checked her map. She found that the next corridor went on in either direction all around the central structure of the station. She found that the nearest access tunnel to the central structure of the station, and a turbolift to Main Engineering, was for her to walk to her right and proceed down the corridor at least a couple hundred meters.

Inside the next corridor, she came across two Urtragian Space Pirate Troopers. Upon sighting Samus, they jumped back while firing blue pulses from their energy cannons on their right arms, causing Samus to dive to one side. As they were firing, they also powered their Photonic Power Scythes and began to charge her. Samus charged her stacked Plasma Beam and unleashed it at the left Pirate, who had just taken the lead in charging towards her. The plasma blast struck the Pirate in the chest and the force of the impact shoved him backwards. He fell to the floor, but only his shields had been breached. The Pirate's armor held firm. The other Pirate had arrived at Samus and took a swing at her with the scythe. She vacated the area she had been occupying and the scythe slashed through nothing but air. She charged a second blast of plasma and unleashed it upon the second Pirate. Again, the blast collapsed the Pirate's shields and knocked him off his feet, but otherwise, he was unharmed. The first Pirate soon rose from the floor and took a few shots at Samus, hoping to inflict damage to the bounty hunter before she managed to kill him. Samus took a few shots at the Pirate and burned several holes into him. The Space Pirate fell to the floor never to rise again. While he had likely hoped that his comrade would cover him and inflict more damage to her, his comrade had been smarter.

The second Pirate had risen and promptly fled the scene. Samus caught him out of the corner of her eye and turned to blast him when she found that he had already left her line of sight. She rushed after the Space Pirate, charging her Plasma Beam, causing a green bulge of energy to form at the end of her cannon. The Pirate had not fled out of cowardice, though. He had fled because of the security alarm lever on the wall about twenty meters down the corridor. Samus quickly realized why he had fled and when she caught sight of him once more, she fired her charged plasma blast. The blast of plasma erupted from her arm cannon and streaked towards the Pirate Trooper. Upon spying her, the Pirate dove towards the lever, managing to avoid suffering a direct hit from the plasma blast. However, the plasma blast had managed to inflict significant damage even with its indirect hit on the trooper, taking his left arm off with it. However, with his remaining arm, the Pirate Trooper reached up and managed to pull the alarm lever just as Samus shot him again, felling him for good. Immediately, alarm klaxons went off throughout the entire station.

On the Control Deck, Ridley was sitting quietly in his chair, overlooking the rest of the command crew when alarm klaxons began to blare. "What the devil?" he roared as the alarms continued to blare. Red lines that signified the Red Alert lit up all around the bridge. "What the hell is going on?" he roared to everyone on the Control Deck.

One of the Space Pirate Troopers went over to a security console and called back to Ridley in reply, "My lord, the security alarms have been activated."

"I can hear that, moron!" Ridley boomed. "Why are they active?"

"Unknown, my lord," the Pirate answered.

"Lord Ridley, security forces are already beginning to begin heightened patrol of the station," another Space Pirate called out. "They report that they have found nothing out of the ordinary."

"Could there be something outside the station?" Ridley asked.

"I don't know," the Pirate responded.

"Well activate the sensors!" he roared to the command crew.

"Yes, my lord," the sensor officer responded as he activated the external sensors of the station. He studied the results and frowned. "Lord Ridley, there are no anomalous readings outside the station," he reported.

"Begin internal scan," Ridley directed.

The sensor officer began to look nervous. "We cannot," he replied worriedly.

"Why can't you?" Ridley queried, glowering at the officer with a menacing scowl.

"Because we haven't finished installing the internal sensors yet," the officer responded. "Since you didn't want to waste any of the resources of the fleet for the station, we've been forced to use what the Federation left here, and they never installed any internal sensors inside the station."

The Space Pirate leader looked at the ground in stunned disbelief. "Are you telling me that we're blind inside and that we're gonna have to rely on security patrols?" Ridley roared at the top of his voice.

"Yes, s…s…sir," the officer stammered sheepishly.

Ridley then let out a huge roar of rage. The roar last for more than a few seconds and everyone on the Control Deck was now on edge. After Ridley had calmed down, he started issuing orders to the crew. "Activate the internal comm, assuming we actually have that," he commanded, adding the last bit sarcastically.

"We do," the communications officer confirmed, checking to make sure that they actually _did_ have internal communications, just in case that was another oversight made by the Federation during the building of the station.

"Put me on!"

The officer pushed a green button and said, "You're on my lord."

"All Space Pirates, as you know, we have a security alert. If you spot the intruder, report it to me at once, then kill him or her with extreme prejudice."

"Understood, my lord," came the chorus of affirmatives.

The officer then deactivated the comm radio and went back to work, listening for any report on the intruder to the station. Ridley sat nervously in his chair, wondering if his nemesis had infiltrated the station.

Meanwhile, down in the capital city of the N'Kren homeworld, inside a large meeting room inside the Capital Building Elric and his bodyguard sat at a gray table. The bodyguards, Xeres and Isol surrounded Elric. Xeres was a handsome reptilian alien with green skin that resembled a turtle, while Isol was an amphibian-like alien that seemed to resemble a humanoid salamander. They each wore Galactic Federation Army power armor, but had specially modified helmets and visors, which they were not wearing down to the meeting. There were places for a dozen occupants. Also sitting at the table were two N'Kren representatives, two Ylla representatives, and U-Mos, a Luminoth. U-Mos sat next to one of the bodyguards of Elric. The room was as gray as the table, which surprised Elric. He began to wonder if he was in an interrogation chamber rather than in a meeting room.

It was not long before an outline formed along the gray wall. It took Elric a few moments to realize that the outline was actually a door about to open. The door soon slid open and a N'Kren stepped through, flanked by two guards. Unlike the other N'Kren present, this N'Kren wore an ornate suit of what looked to be golden armor over his body that obscured his features. Elric could only tell that the new arrival was a N'Kren by the way the two N'Kren already inside the chamber rose and bowed before him. Elric took another look the armored N'Kren and then glanced over to his two bodyguards, who were also dressed in ornate armor. The armor of the two guards was vastly different, though. One of the guards wore golden armor with multiple blade-like protrusions emerging from the arms, shoulders, and knees. In addition, the guard was also wearing multiple blades. He counted at least two swords on the soldier's back, and two knives on the soldier's legs. For what looked to be ranged weapons, the golden soldier possessed two wrist blasters. There also appeared to be mountings on the back that looked like engines or thrusters. He then glanced over at the silver armored soldier. This one did not have many blades, save for a single sword at the hip. This soldier did, however, have multiple guns and cannons. In addition to the two wrist blasters, this soldier also sported shoulder-mounted guns that looked to be quite powerful. However, he soon noticed that they were connected to the soldier's back and that the shoulders, themselves, may have been able to open and reveal powerful energy weapons. He also noticed several round red balls on the chest of the knight arranged in two vertical rows. By the looks of things, Elric figured that the round red balls were likely energy projectors, possibly the main weapons for this armored knight.

The guards of the two N'Kren also bowed towards the armored N'Kren. It was then that Elric noticed something about the soldiers. The armor seemed to resemble old Earth medieval knights, though the helmets seemed to look a bit more angular. The armored N'Kren then approached his chair but before sitting, a golden sheen surrounded his armor. The armor of the N'Kren then disappeared and revealed a powerfully built reptilian alien that was easily taller Elric, and looked to be around the size of a Space Pirate, though was obviously more powerfully built. He then took his seat. His two guards soon arrived next to him and he directed them in his language, [You may remove your armor, now.]

Immediately, a golden light surrounded the two armored figures, which looked to be smaller, even in their armor, than the N'Kren. Elric's eyes went wide when the armor vanished and the guards were revealed to be two humans. He looked over at his soldiers, who had also stared at the two human soldiers as their armor had vanished, and they both nodded and said, "Confirmed: the N'Kren's guards are, indeed, human, approximately in their early to mid fifties according to the bio-scan."

He noted that the human guards did not look to be anywhere close to their fifties. He looked at the man, who had brown hair and gray eyes. He wore a white shirt and pants and had a patch on the upper left part of his chest. The patch read, _K-2L ._ Elric's eyes flashed. Had this man been from the colony K-2L? No, he figured, that was impossible. The colony on K-2L had been destroyed twenty-four years ago. He also noticed a golden ring on the man's ring finger. If he were human, that generally signified that he was married. He then looked over at the woman. She was a lovely woman with blond hair, which fell to just below her shoulders, and blue eyes. She looked much younger than the early to mid fifties that his two guards had placed both her and the man. She wore a white shirt and pants as well. She, too, had a golden ring on her ring finger. In addition, she also had a tag on her left breast that read, _K-2L _. Elric stared at her and thought, _She resembles someone_. His eyes then flashed. _Samus_? he wondered. He looked at the woman once more and could not help but feel as if she resembled the bounty hunter. Elric then said, "Excuse me, sir and ma'am," directing his question towards the two humans, "but I saw that your tags say that you were workers on the Earth colony K-2L. Were you?"

"Yes," both of the humans replied, nodding.

"But how? There was only one known survivor of the K-2L incident. Everyone else was killed."

"We were killed, so to speak," the woman began. However, the N'Kren leader cut her off, saying, "You don't need to go into detail right now, Blaster. We don't know these people."

"Sir, these are members of the Galactic Federation," Blaster countered. "I am a technically a Federation citizen and he asked me a question. He just wants to know how my husband and I are still alive."

The N'Kren leader considered the issue carefully before finally responding, "Very well, but don't get into specifics. These people are still outsiders. If they want more information, they can ask U-Mos over there."

The woman then bowed towards the N'Kren and turned back to Elric. She then answered him, saying, "We were technically dead in that our hearts had stopped, and most of our brain activity had ceased. After the Chozo had left the planet, a N'Kren ship arrived with Ma'Kar, here, in command. We and several others were still salvageable and they took us onboard their ship and placed us in stasis before were past the point of no return."

Elric listened to the woman's explanation and nodded. He had hoped that she would have gone into further detail, such as the extent of her injury when she had clinically died, but he kept silent, not wanting to appear discourteous. Another thing that caught Elric's attention was that the N'Kren leader, Ma'Kar, apparently knew U-Mos.

Elric soon noticed that the Ylla representatives were staring at him and his bodyguards. It was then that one of them said to him, "You are a Star Elf, are you not?"

Elric nodded, but he was now getting worried. He knew exactly where this line of questioning was headed, and he began to sweat. "I am," he replied in a calm and commanding voice. Inwardly, though, he was very worried and made a slight gesture towards his guards. This did not escape the notice of U-Mos or the N'Kren.

"What is the problem?" Ma'Kar asked. "Kehlan was merely observing the identity of your species."

"Yes," Kehlan confirmed. "The last we heard of your kind, you were still slaves to the Magic Lords. It is good to see that you have blossomed into a starfaring people and are now even leaders in the Galactic Federation."

Elric did not know whether the compliment he was paid was sincere or not. U-Mos looked at him and gave him what passed for a Luminoth as a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it," U-Mos told him. "We know that you were engineered by the Elvanheim and used as slaves. As long as you do not still serve them willingly, we have no enmity with you."

That did a little to reassure Elric, but he was still on edge. He knew that he was dealing with two elder races in the N'Kren and the Ylla. And given what the N'Kren had shown, he suspected that the guards that they had brought with them were at least as powerful as Samus, and likely even more so.

Ma'Kar then motioned for everyone to sit, which they did. After they all took their seats, Ma'Kar began the discussion by saying, "Very well, then. Let us begin the proceedings."

Back on Earth, Kreatz, Mauk, and a dozen Galactic Federation Police Troopers flew down towards the Sinnoh Region of Japan. The Heavy Assault Shuttle that they had taken from _Federation One_ was heavily armed and armored. They had used their Watchmen codes to get into Earth's atmosphere without being shot down, but even so, they still faced some resistance to their arrival. A green serpentine dragon that had red-tipped wings that seemed to resemble rudders in size and shape on its shoulders and lower down on its body along with two arms with three-fingered hands, had intercepted them and nearly shot them down as they entered the atmosphere when it had launched a powerful reddish-white blast at the shuttle. The scans from the computer indicated that the dragon was actually a Legendary Pokémon named Rayquaza. The blast had rocketed across the bow of the shuttle and flew out into space, likely due to the fact that it was so powerful that if it had struck the ground, it would have produced a crater the size of a small city. Kreatz took this as merely being a warning shot.

Kreatz and Mauk continued to look over at the dossiers and decided that the first target they would apprehend would be Leaf, since she was the Kanto Pokémon League champion and known to have powerful Pokémon. If they could capture her and her Pokémon, then the resistance to Elric's rule would likely lessen a great deal, at least on the ground. In addition, she was a primary target of Elric, and would likely cause her twin brother to try to save her, allowing him to be captured as well. In addition, it would make people safer, in their mind, since a "criminal" would be off the streets. They did not know about many of the excesses of the Watchmen and their agents on Earth with others. If they had, they may have reconsidered taking this mission.

A beep started to sound in the cockpit and both Kreatz and Mauk looked at the screen. They soon saw a signal on scanners. "Look, Kreatz, we've caught a bio-sign," Mauk notified his friend. He then checked to see its current location and found that it was only a kilometer or so ahead. "It's not too far ahead, too," he added.

"Who is it?" Kreatz asked, thumbing through the dossiers of the so-called "Enemies of the Federation".

An image soon popped up on screen. It was of a girl that looked to be about twelve in terms of her height, though they both noted that she seemed more developed in other areas of her physiology. She had black hair and blue eyes. She wore a sky blue sleeveless shirt, red skirt, and a white hat with a Poké Ball insignia on its front. Mauk's eyes went wide at the revelation. "It's Leaf," he answered.

"Leaf?" Kreatz asked, flabbergasted at the prospect of capturing one of Elric's most sought after enemies.

Mauk nodded, "Yeah. And she seems to be traveling alone. This might actually end up being easy."

"Then let's go get her," Kreatz proclaimed. The sooner we can capture her, the sooner we can end this mission and get back to _Federation One_."

Mauk and the others agreed and with that thought, they took the shuttle lower and prepared to make the attempt to apprehend the Kanto Pokémon League Champion, Leaf.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, down along the long ring that surrounded the central structure of the station _Moreau_, Samus charged through the corridors on her path to the turbolift that would take her to the station's Main Engineering section. So far, she had come across two teams of three Zebesian Space Pirates. She had made short work of the weak enemies and had taken them out before they had managed to get a message to Ridley. She continued on her way and she soon encountered another squadron of Zebesian Space Pirates. This squadron consisted of eight troopers, four normal Zebesian, two Cyborg Zebesian, and two Super Zebesians. Despite the enhancements of the Cyborg Zebesians and the armor of the Super Zebesians, the Zebesians were all no match for Samus. Samus did not waste any time in dealing with the Pirates and switched to her Ice Missiles. She then charged her Ice Missile into a Diffusion Missile and unleashed it upon the Zebesian Space Pirates. The missile crossed the distance from Samus's arm cannon to the lead Zebesian in around one second and then detonated, the blast wave of freezing energy engulfing the Zebesians and encasing them in blocks of ice. Samus then switched back to her stacked Plasma Beam and proceeded to shoot the frozen Zebesians; one shot for each Pirate. With each shot, a Zebesian Space Pirate was shattered into a thousand pieces. After eight shots, the enemy force that had confronted Samus was completely destroyed. Samus then charged forward.

Samus continued to scan her map as she continued on the ring. She found that she was nearing the access pathway to the main structure of the station. She proceeded to make her way towards the access way when she came across four Space Pirate Troopers and one Elite Pirate. Upon sighting the bounty hunter, the four Pirate Troopers immediately formed a line in front of the Elite Pirate as he activated his radio and screamed frantically, "Lord Ridley, we've identified the intruder! It's the Hunter! She's in Sector Eight of the Lower Outer Ring, near Access Path Four!"

On the Control Deck of the station, Ridley heard the frantic report of the Elite Pirate. He also heard the sounds of weapons fire coming in over the comm. He also heard the screams of the Space Pirates that were holding off Samus. Soon, the Elite Pirate called in once more, screaming, "Lord Ridley, she's just killed the rest of my team. I need…bzzzzt." Static then filled the Control Deck. Ridley then gave the signal to cut the radio. He then yelled to the communications officer, "Get me the rest of the station, now!"

The officer did so and nodded towards the space dragon. Ridley then proclaimed, "All Space Pirate forces onboard the Space Station _Moreau_, we have an intruder. It is the Hunter. She is currently located in…" he checked the report and then continued, "Sector Eight of the Lower Outer Ring, near Access Path Four. All forces are to go to that area at once and intercept her at once. She will either be headed towards Main Engineering to destroy our Aurora Unit, or the Control Deck to alert the Federation to our location. You must stop her, no matter the cost!"

A chorus of "affirmatives" answered Ridley as the radio was cut off once again. Ridley then turned to a Space Pirate Commander behind him and said, "I must get down to Main Engineering, just in case that is Samus's target. You have the Deck, P'Dack. Should Samus arrive on this deck, you _must_ make sure that she does not leave until I get the DNA samples safely off this station. Most stations and planets that Samus visits have a tendency to explode not long after she arrives."

"Understood, Lord Ridley," the Space Pirate Commander responded.

Ridley then left his chair, which the Space Pirate Commander immediately occupied, and went down the flight of stairs that would lead to the Control Deck's exit. Ridley had to get down to Main Engineering so he could get the second DNA sample of Aurora Unit Zero, as well as the DNA of several other Space Pirate generals and bio-weapons off of this station and fall back to a second hideout, far away from here. Only there, could Ridley grow a new Mother Brain, Kraid, and other generals for their army. This was the one time that he knew that he could not afford to get bogged down into a fight against Samus Aran. She had defeated him far too often in the past, and while he really wanted to get revenge on her, right now, the survival of the Space Pirates was of greater importance than getting revenge. Ridley then exited the deck and headed over to a turbolift that would take him directly down to the engineering deck.

Down in Sector Eight of the Lower Outer Ring, Samus finished off the Elite Pirate by firing a charged plasma blast at his head, vaporizing the Pirate's head and torso in the process. She heard Ridley's voice over the speakers as he issued his orders and knew that the area would soon be crawling with Space Pirates. That made her decision to go Main Engineering much easier since she suspected that the Control Deck was going to be very heavily defended, though she also expected the Pirates to reinforce the defenses of Main Engineering as well.

With that thought in mind, she made haste towards the access path to the main structure of the station. She immediately jumped into the air and somersaulted through the pathway. Immediately, her suit began to emit a yellow field of energy as she had activated her Screw Attack. Several waves of Zebesian Space Pirates and Urtragian Space Pirate Troopers barred her way, but she was able to barrel through them with her Space Jump and Screw Attack with contemptuous ease. Samus merely continued on her way, not stopping to ensure that she had killed all of the Space Pirates in any wave. She merely made her way past them and proceeded down the corridor, and into the main structure of the station.

After emerging from pathway and entering the main structure of the station, she immediately curled herself into Morph Ball mode and rolled down the corridor. A great many Zebesian Space Pirates ran past her and did not seem to stop and take notice of the orange ball rolling past them. Some of the Pirates that were rushing past, however, were Pirate Commandos, and as such, were far more observant. When they noticed Samus rolling down the corridors, they pointed their energy cannons and fired, all the while activating their comm units so that they could update the Control Deck of Samus's status. However, Samus made certain that they would not make the report as she dropped a Power Bomb among them and rocketed away using her Boost Ball. The Pirate Commandos screamed into their radios, "The Hunter is in Sector…" and then the Power Bomb detonated, engulfing them in a massive wave of destructive energy that cut off the transmission before they could give Samus's location. In addition, while the noise would attract a great deal of Space Pirates to the area, all they would see was a floor with a massive crater gouged into it, and in some places, the floor vanished entirely, revealing lower floors of the station.

Samus still rolled around the station in Morph Ball mode. Despite the fact that she had used a Power Bomb to take out the two Space Pirate Commandos only a few dozen meters behind her, most of the Zebesians had not thought to look on the ground for Samus rolling past them. The Urtragian Space Pirates, however, were more intelligent and the thought had crossed their minds to look down. Since she did not want to waste her Power Bombs, she immediately returned to normal and Screw Attacked through the air. The first of the Space Pirate Troopers fired blue pulses from his Quantum Assault Cannon, which bounced off of Samus's Screw Attack shield harmlessly. The bounty hunter then barreled through the torso of the Pirate, annihilating it, and taking his head off as well. A pair of legs then fell to the ground to either side of where the Pirate had been standing. The other Space Pirates parted before her and allowed the hunter to pass. A few still took a few potshots at her, but their energy pulses merely bounced off the field of energy produced by her suit's Screw Attack. She soon left their sight and they did not bother to go after her, not without reinforcements.

Samus soon landed and she sprinted towards a fork in the corridor a couple dozen meters ahead. She checked her map and soon found that the path to the left led to an elevator that would take her to hall just outside the Control Deck. She made her left turn and was met by two Space Pirate Commandos dressed in black armor. Upon sighting the bounty hunter, they opened fire, unleashing blobs of blue energy at her. She quickly flattened herself against the right wall of the corridor and watched as the plasma blasts sailed past her. She retaliated by switching to her Ice Missiles and charging a Diffusion Missile. She remembered from earlier how a combination of her Ice Beam and a missile could quickly shatter a Pirate Commando, and she hoped that she could replicate the feat using an Ice or Diffusion Missile coupled with a charged Plasma Beam. Once the missile was charged, Samus unleashed it upon the two Pirate Commandos. The Diffusion Missile erupted from Samus's arm cannon aimed towards the feet of the Pirate Commandos. As Samus suspected, they saw the missile headed towards them and they jumped to either side to avoid it. The missile struck the ground a few feet away and detonated. A wave of freezing energy then washed over the Pirates and they were frozen solid. Not wasting any time, Samus switched to her stacked Plasma Beam and charged it. She then fired on the first Pirate Commando. The green pulse of energy struck the Commando and shattered him into thousands of icy shards. Samus then repeated the process with the second Commando before he managed to thaw. The second Pirate Commando was shattered just as water was beginning to drip from him and steam was rising.

Once the Pirate Commandos had been dealt with, Samus made her way down the corridor. She knew from her map that less than a hundred meters away or so, she would arrive at the elevator that would take her to the Control Deck. The only resistance she faced along the way were a few teams of Zebesians, Cyborg Zebesians, and Super Zebesians. They were no match for Samus's arsenal and each team was dispatched with contemptuous ease. Samus's only concern was that the Space Pirate Commandos may have managed to get off a signal detailing her location to the rest of the Pirates onboard the station. Still, she had not faced any increased levels of resistance that she would have expected if the Commandos had managed to get a message out before their demise.

She continued on her way until she came to an elevator on her right about ten meters away from her. The elevator was being guarded by two Elite Pirates. The Plasma Artillery Cannons worn by the Elite Pirates were formidable weapons, and Samus knew that one of her greatest weapons, the Super Missile, had been supplanted by Ice Missiles. She merely hoped that her Ice Missiles would be sufficient to freeze them and damage their energy siphoning systems before she shattered them. She began by locking onto the lead Pirate and firing an Ice Missile at him. The large, bulky armor of the Pirate was a hindrance to him and he could not maneuver out of the way of Samus's Ice Missile. The Ice Missile struck the Pirate and encased him in ice. That was when his comrade stepped out and fired a blast of plasma from his Plasma Artillery Cannon. Green bursts of energy were unleashed upon Samus as she dove out of the way of the incoming plasma barrage. One of the blasts managed to tag her, though, and nearly took out a full Energy Tank's worth of energy. Samus grimaced at the sight and then focused her attention on the sole remaining unfrozen Pirate. She then targeted the second Elite Pirate with an Ice Missile. The missile leapt from her arm cannon and crossed the distance between her and the Pirate Elite in less than a second. The missile struck the Pirate in the Plasma Artillery Cannon and froze the cannon, along with half of the Pirate, solid. She then switched to her Plasma Beam and charged a single shot of her beam. She then unleashed the shot the second Pirate, targeting the frozen portion of his body. Her pulse of energy burned through the ice and armor, without being drained. The frozen portion of the Pirate was promptly shattered, with the rest of the Pirate falling down to the ground. Samus then charged a second shot and fired on the first Elite Pirate. The Pirate was promptly shattered as the beam burned through his frozen form. With the two Elite Pirates having been taken care of, she proceeded towards the elevator. She soon arrived at the elevator and pressed its call button. There, she waited for about thirty seconds as the elevator came down to her level.

As soon as the elevator arrived, the doors opened and revealed two Space Pirate Troopers. The Pirate Troopers were caught completely off guard at the sight of Samus so all the first one was able to do was widen his eyes in surprise as Samus had already charged a plasma blast. He was instantly blown apart as she unleashed the plasma upon him. The second Pirate then raised his Quantum Assault Cannon towards Samus, but she grabbed it, and his wrist and pulled him out of the elevator as she was charging a second plasma burst. Once it charged, she jerked the unfortunate Pirate's shoulder, dislocating it, causing him to scream. She then kicked him in the leg, where the hamstring tendon would have been located on a human. The Pirate collapsed onto the ground and Samus then jammed her arm cannon to the back of the Pirate's head. She then unleashed the blast and vaporized the Pirate's head and most of his torso in the process. Samus then stepped forward and proceeded to board the elevator. Once she was on the elevator, she pressed the top button on the keypad, indicating that her desired destination was Main Engineering. Then, she waited as the doors closed and the elevator proceeded to descend into the bowels of the station, and take her deposit her down in Main Engineering.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Kreatz, Mauk, and their squadron of Watchmen marched down the street in broad daylight in the small town. Most of the human civilians on the streets gave the agents a wide berth, knowing that the Watchmen he power to arrest them and incarcerate them without trial at the merest of whims. Others, while they did step aside, did not attempt to hide their disdain for the Watchmen, or their leaders. While Kreatz wore a white uniform with Elric's Galactic Federation insignia, a circle with three pillars in the center with a black eye-like circle in the middle, the rest of the Watchmen wore shiny white or silver armor, depending on the rank, save for Mauk, who wore golden armor, albeit without the helmet. They each still had the same insignia, though.

Not too far off, they saw the black-haired girl in the blue tank top and red miniskirt. Kreatz and Mauk took the lead and called out, "Pokémon Trainer Leaf?"

The girl turned around at the sound of her name and saw the fifteen soldiers headed her way. She seemed to recognize them as being Federation, and likely one of the secret organizations that Elric had recently brought to Earth. She immediately turned back and walked away nervously, increasing her pace. Kreatz and Mauk increased their own pace as they called after her, "Ms. Leaf we need to talk with you."

The girl apparently was not in any mood to talk, for her walk had now become a run. The two Watchmen began to run after her in pursuit, the rest of the squadron quickening their own pace, as well as sending men around to try to cut off any escape routes. "You must stop, now, Leaf," Kreatz called after her. "We need to talk with you."

After a couple of blocks, they had arrived near a set of buildings that appeared to be abandoned. She then turned around, producing a small ball in her right hand. Upon pressing a button, the ball grew in size and soon opened. A red ball of energy emerged and soon landed on the ground, taking the form of a large blue-green skinned creature that seemed to resemble a cross between a toad or some sort of dinosaur with a large red plant on its back with a brown trunk. "What do you want?" the girl called back at the approaching special police officers.

"We need you to come with us," Mauk answered.

"Why?" the girl demanded. "What have I done?"

"You have been charged with spreading sedition," Kreatz began, which only prompted the girl to laugh.

"Sedition?" Leaf nearly laughed out loud. "Sedition? You think that I am some sort of political activist?"

"That's what the charging documents say," Kreatz answered. It was obvious that even _he_ was not convinced of her being a seditionist.

"That, and the fact that you are in possession of bioweapons," Mauk added. This was a little easier to prove, given that Leaf had just released her Venusaur.

"What bioweapons am I in possession of?" Leaf asked.

"Several, according to your records," Mauk responded. "Your Venusaur being one of them."

This answer surprised Leaf greatly. "My Venusaur?" she replied in shock. "You consider Venusaur a bioweapon?"

"Actually, he, or she, _is_ a bioweapon," Kreatz answered. "All Pokémon, save for those not from Earth, and a few other rare exceptions, are technically bioweapons. Surely you must know that Pokémon were originally developed in Earth's third world war."

"Yes, but that was centuries ago," Leaf countered. "Now, Pokémon are listed in general Earth taxonomies. In addition, they are considered at the least semi-sentient, with many believing that they are, indeed, fully sentient."

"That's another issue," Mauk stated. "Pokémon are used by people in battles."

"Which have strict rules," Leaf added. "And even now, people are looking into the morality of Pokémon battles, even the league champions, myself in particular. Just so you know, _all_ of my Pokémon joined my team voluntarily and may leave whenever they wish. I have gone to great lengths to ensure that they are not slaves in any sense of the word. They are free to do whatever they want, assuming they don't break any sentient rights laws."

"That's not the main issue right now," Mauk told her.

"Then what is?"

"The fact that the Pokémon Leagues have all been outspoken critics of Elric when what is needed right now is unity," Kreatz replied.

"Unity," Leaf stated harshly. "If half of what has been said about the Watchmen is true, then the only divisive force in the galaxy is Elric. I mean, everyone is looking over their shoulders. People are disappearing without a trace. All of these things have one thing in common, Elric and his followers, the Watchmen. In other words, you!"

"That is enough," one of the Watchmen, a soldier in white armor bellowed as he stepped forward and leveled his gun at the girl's head. "You will come with us now, or we will not be able to guarantee that your safety in your apprehension."

"Woah, woah, woah," Kreatz interrupted, turning around and holding his hands up. "We don't have to go that far, yet."

"Sirs, she's escaping!" cried another of the Watchmen.

Sure enough, Kreatz and Mauk turned around to find the girl fleeing down the street. The large, blue-green dinosaur-like creature was not at her side, nor was it standing in front of her. Kreatz figured that she had returned the creature to her Poké Ball. Kreatz grimaced and he began to run after her. The other soldiers had other ideas, though. They pulled out their Freeze Guns and began to pursue her as well. A few of the soldiers took a few potshots at her, their blasts either striking behind her, forming small patches of ice on the ground, or going wide.

"Wait!" Kreatz cried. "Our orders were to apprehend her, not to kill her!"

"_My_ orders were to take her in any way possible, dead or alive," the soldier responded.

"Those were my orders too," a second soldier stated.

"And my orders came from Elric," the first soldier added.

"As did ours," Mauk answered. "And we were told to apprehend her and the others, not kill them."

"Not necessarily," another soldier replied. "We still have our orders from Elric. He told us that if we had to, we had the authorization to kill her. She had to be stopped, no matter the cost."

"But she's just a kid!" Kreatz countered desperately. "She's only almost twelve! She's not a murderous monster!"

"But she _is_ a criminal. Don't forget about the bioweapons she currently has in her possession. Even if they are, as she says, her friends, they are still illegal. And _they_ are authorized for termination."

With that, the other soldiers went off in chase of Leaf, while Kreatz and Mauk could only watch as the soldiers began to fire ice blasts from their Freeze Guns. The soldiers pursued Leaf, eventually catching up to her. She turned and saw that the soldiers were fast approaching. One of them had even drawn his assault rifle and opened fire in her general direction. She dove to the ground and the bullets that erupted from the gun miraculously sailed over her head. She then began to crawl and struggle to rise and flee the soldiers. She considered releasing her Pokémon and having them help her fight, but she decided against it. There would be a second of vulnerability for the Pokémon and that second of vulnerability could result in their deaths. As such, she merely continued to run.

Not far into the pursuit, several people emerged from several of the buildings upon seeing the chase, and/or wondering what the commotion outside was all about. Once they emerged, they all recognized the Watchmen and a few even seemed to know Leaf. When they saw the Watchmen agents firing on her, a group of them stepped out to meet the Watchmen. They directed her to continue running while they held back the Watchmen, interposing themselves between the Watchmen and the fleeing girl. The leader of the group, a Japanese man wearing civilian clothing, holding a civilian issue energy rifle, stood in front of the others, who were armed with similar weaponry. "Why are you in pursuit of this girl?" the man asked the Watchmen agents in a calm tone.

"This girl has been found guilty of spreading seditionist thought and of possessing bioweapons," the lead officer in white armor responded. "In addition, it seems as if you are in violation of Post-Daiban Directive One." He pointed his energy rifle towards the civilian. "Allow us to pass now and we will overlook your violations, all of you!" he said sternly.

"You mean the girl is a Pokémon Trainer who is a member of one of the Pokémon Leagues," the civilian leader retorted.

"Her apprehension is of grave importance to Chairman Elric," the officer responded.

"Why is that?"

"Need to know. And you criminal scum don't. Now, move aside before we force you aside, one way or the other!"

But the civilians held firm. Kreatz and Mauk had just arrived at the scene when the Watchmen Trooper leader shoved the civilian leader backwards. The other civilians pointed their weapons at the troopers and surrounded their leader. They then yelled to Leaf, "Run!"

Leaf, who was close to rounding a corner, began to sprint away. One of the troopers noticed her and fleeing and opened fire on her with his assault rifle. Fortunately, the trooper's aim was wild and he failed to find his mark. That was more than enough for the civilians to begin firing on the troopers. They immediately opened fire with the weapons that they had at their disposal. While most merely had slugthrowers, which were not all that effective against the power armor suits worn by the Watchmen Troopers, a few of the civilians had energy rifles and pistols, which were far more effective. Red pulses erupted from the rifles and struck the officers. Single hits were insufficient to take down the officers, but after a few hits, even their armor was unable to hold and two officers were felled in the initial barrage. However, it would not be enough against the Watchmen, who merely pointed their own assault rifles and Freeze Guns at the civilians. They then opened fire and ruthlessly mowed down the first line of civilians.

A few of the surviving civilians, however, were also Pokémon Trainers and had taken the time to release some Pokémon, most of them were brown star-shaped Pokémon with crystals in the center called Staryu. Another was a blue serpentine Pokémon known as a Gyarados. The Staryus began the fight by opening fire with yellow energy stars in what was known to Pokémon Trainers as a Swift attack. The energy stars were more than powerful enough to penetrate the armor of the Watchmen soldiers and fell them. Gyarados merely made certain of their eventual fates with a single beam of orange energy that emerged from its mouth. The Hyper Beam struck the force of soldiers and gouged a furrow into the street that was several meters long, and at least two meters across. After a few seconds, the Watchmen that had taken on the civilians were dead. However, the civilians would not be able to celebrate for long, for reinforcements for the Watchmen had arrived. Galactic Federation Army soldiers and more Watchmen came onto the scene, riding landing ships. Several Stiletto-class starfighters also escorted the landing ships as well. They immediately fired on the Pokémon, who did not hesitate to return fire. Open fighting between Earth and the Federation had begun. And before the battle was over, dozens on each side would be dead.

Meanwhile, Leaf continued to run down the street, hearing the sounds of battle if the distance behind her. Despite wanting to go back and help the others, she knew that she had to continue running, for _she_ was the target of the Watchmen and she would do more harm than good to the civilians if she went back to back them up in their fight. As she continued to run, she looked up and saw a small, floating cat-like creature on the roof of one of the buildings. She immediately ran to the building and turned around. There, she was face to face with Kreatz, Mauk, who were not flanked by any other soldiers yet. She could see the looks of sadness in their eyes. She then called back to them, yelling, "You're not like the others. You're not murderers."

"No," both Kreatz and Mauk agreed. "We're Galactic Federation Police Officers. But you are a criminal as determined by the Chairman of the Galactic Federation, and the civilians that protected you killed Federation officers. Earth is under direct control of the Galactic Federation. You must come with us. Please, don't make this any more difficult than it already is."

"I'm sorry, officers," Leaf answered, shaking her head. "But I don't plan on dying anytime soon. And if I surrender to you, I _will_ die."

It was then that she turned around to flee when she ran into the two remaining Watchmen that had not joined the main force in the assault. These Watchmen had removed their helmets, revealing the faces of two Simians. They leered at her as they pointed their guns at her. Leaf then felt a wave flow over her as she vanished from their sight and reappeared on top of a building above the scene. She looked down as Kreatz and Mauk cried, "No!" as the two Simians fired on a substitute that was a perfect copy of her that had appeared the instant she had disappeared and reappeared on the roof. She looked over at the small, floating white-furred cat-like Pokémon, Mew, and said, "Thanks."

"_You're welcome Mia_," Mew communicated back to her telepathically. Leaf then watched as the two Simians gunned down her substitute. She saw the bullets tear through her substitute's torso and head, creating a scarlet mist in the process, making the fake look as real as the real thing. The body fell to the ground, blood leaking from multiple wounds. She took one last look at Kreatz and Mauk's faces as they were left aghast at the gruesome sight of her substitute's destruction.

"What the hell have you two done?" they roared at the other two Watchmen.

"Carry out our orders, sirs," the two Simian Watchmen soldiers replied harshly as one of them bent down and grabbed the body of Mia's substitute and casually broke its neck with a single jerk, just to make sure that Mia was dead. The sound of cracking bones echoed throughout the alley

Mia looked down at the scene and asked Mew, "How long will that thing last?"

"_Until a normal human body would decompose_," Mew responded. With that, Mew teleported herself and Mia away from the scene, and all the way to the Unova Region in America. As of yet, the Federation did not have a strong presence there, and the Federation presence that _was_ there was more loyal to Earth than it was to Elric. As Mia reappeared inside a temple, she worried about what would happen in the future, for the fighting that had occurred would not go unreported, and it would definitely lead to more conflicts in the future.

Back down where the two remaining Watchmen Troopers were loading the substitute Leaf's corpse onto their shuttle, Kreatz and Mauk walked and stared at the scene blankly. They saw the corpses of Watchmen, humans, and Pokemon litter the street. It was evident that none of the Watchmen had been human, much to the worry of Kreatz and Mauk. This incident would only widen further the gulf between humans and non-human member species of the Galactic Federation, especially on Earth. As they continued to walk back up the street towards their shuttle, they noticed that even the wreckage of starfighters was visible. "It has begun," Mauk said blankly.

Kreatz could only nod at his friend's statement. He then went onto the shuttle so he could continue the search for more criminals. However, the more he thought about what had happened with Mia, the more he wondered if it were the Pokémon Trainers and seditionists of Earth that were the criminals, or if it was them. With that dark thought, they activated the shuttle's engines and rose from the ground and continued with their mission, albeit with only two other remaining troops from the original assault force.


	7. Chapter 7

Legal Disclaimer: I do not own F-Zero or Donkey Kong, Nintendo does. They and all of their characters are the property of Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, and their respective creators.

Chapter 7:

Ridley arrived down on the Engineering Deck and proceeded to exit his turbolift car as the doors slid open. As he exited the lift, he found the Engineering Deck to be quite dark, with red lights lining the walls, flashing at a steady interval, indicating that there was an intruder onboard the station. Instead of the normal gray walls, the deck had black walls with small yellow and orange lights that were currently shut off due to the security alert. The corridor that Ridley had emerged into was lined with doors that led to rooms full of cloning tanks, hatcheries for his new Space Pirate army. Currently, these tanks were full of Urtragian Space Pirates. He had already taken many other cloning tanks that had once lined many of the corridors of the station and placed them onboard the troopship and the other ships that they had acquired. He did not want the _Moreau_ to be the only base of the Space Pirates. For a second, he wondered if with all of the infighting that was going on in the Federation, if an attempt to retake Urtraghus was out of the question. He banished the thought as quickly as it entered his mind, though. He would consider it if he had to, but otherwise, he thought that it would be best just to take some unknown, but still inhabitable, world for the time being. No need to get too far ahead of himself.

Ridley then quickened his pace down the corridor, beginning to worry that Samus was coming for him and that he would need to get off this station with the altered genetic samples of Aurora Unit Zero before she intercepted him. As much as he may have wanted to fight her again, he knew that his survival, and the survival of the genetic samples of other Space Pirate leaders was far more important than killing one person, even if that person was his nemesis that had not only killed him numerous times before, but had also brought the Space Pirates to the verge of extinction several times in the past as well. It was not long before he reached the end of the corridor and saw a large blast door that separated the corridor from Main Engineering. He walked up to the door and stopped for a second as the doors separated with a clank and proceeded to slide open. Once the doors were open, Ridley walked on through.

Computer consoles lined the interior of Main Engineering of the space station. Ridley paid no heed to the numerous workers, mostly Zebesians, who were manning the consoles and making reports to their superior officers on the Control Deck, and checking up on the clone of Aurora Unit Zero, sitting in the stasis tank in the center of the room. Unlike many Federation Aurora Units, the clone of Aurora Unit Zero did not have its body encased in metal, but it was free, albeit protected by the tank. Ridley went over to the Aurora Unit and told it, "Samus Aran is present on this station. Should she come down here, your directive is to destroy her no matter what it takes. In addition, I want you release all of the locks on the data stored inside the station's computer."

"Understood, Lord Ridley," the Aurora clone responded. "But may I ask why you wish the Hunter to have access to all of our data?"

"It will keep her away from me and the other leaders while we evacuate, with our essential DNA and other pieces of vital information. It will also distract her from coming down here should she decide to take the lift up to the Control Deck before coming down here," the Space Dragon answered.

"And if Samus Aran decides to come here first?" the Aurora clone asked.

"Then you and the others will kill her," Ridley answered with a sinister grin.

"Understood," the Aurora responded almost mechanically.

Ridley grinned at the Aurora's sentiment. He then went over to a table with a small, brown box. There was a combination lock that prevented the box from opening. He input the code and the box's top flew open. Inside the box were several vials that contained liquid and genetic samples from various different lifeforms. Next to the box was a handheld scanner. He picked up the scanner and scanned the vials. Inside the vials were genetic samples of Aurora Unit Zero, Mother Brain, Kraid, Phantoon, and Crocomire. Ridley wanted to save these DNA samples so that when he evacuated the station, he would eventually be able to revive them, at least for Mother Brain, Kraid, Phantoon, and Crocomire. He did not care so much about Aurora Unit Zero save for the potential of integrating its DNA into Mother Brain and allowing her to control large numbers of Federation starships. Once he was certain that the DNA had not been tampered with and that there were no imperfections in the sample, he took the box and proceeded to leave Main Engineering, all of the Space Pirates present saluting him as he left.

Back on the N'Kren homeworld, Elric and the others were continuing to discuss the terms of the N'Kren and Ylla's assistance to the Federation in this time of crisis. The two sides had hit a snag when Elric had asked for military aid in pacifying Earth and dealing with any other rebels. The N'Kren and Ylla were not yet willing to commit themselves to a single side of an internal conflict without knowing the whole story. Elric, was doing his best to plead his case, "Gentlemen, and lady," he added, nodding towards Blaster, "the Federation is in peril in more ways than one. I have requested Earth…"

"You mean ordered, don't you?" Blaster interrupted. This drew a reproachful gaze from Ma'Kar. She did notice that U-Mos, the Luminoth representative was thinking along her lines as he nodded subtly towards her and the others present.

"I did what was necessary," Elric countered. "Earth refused to allow refugees to land on the planet and also limited the amount of refugees that could land on any of its colony worlds. In addition, those that _did_ get to Earth before the decree to refuse any more refugees were subsequently kicked off of the planet."

"May I say that Earth did so because of the belief that you were sending Watchmen, Federation 'secret' police answerable only to Elric, to the planet disguised as refugees of Daiban," U-Mos said, raising his hand.

"Is this why they refused to offer any further assistance to the crisis?" Ma'Kar asked harshly.

Elric frowned. "That may have been the case, or at least part of it, but I did not authorize the Watchmen to take such actions at all. I only instructed them to make sure that neither side was taking advantage of the other. They were there for security reasons only."

While that answer did seem to satisfy Ma'Kar for the moment, it did little to satisfy Blaster or U-Mos, both of who stared at Elric, wondering what he was really planning, and why he was so intent on getting military aid from the N'Kren and the Ylla. U-Mos then looked over at the Ylla representative, who had been silent throughout the entire proceeding, and asked, "And what is your opinion on this subject, Kehlan?"

Kehlan answered, "I have already decided to send aid in the form of food and medicine to people on both sides of this conflict. In my opinion, though, I cannot justify the sending of military forces to aid either side of this impending conflict yet. We will need more information before being able to justify taking such actions."

"I agree," Ma'Kar said, nodding. "At this time, I see no reason to send the Federation any sort of military aid. After all, there is no open conflict within the Federation yet. Earth and the others colonies of interest have yet to secede and they may still be willing to talk. We will, of course, send aid in the form of food, medicine, and even some materiel for building shelters and hospitals to care for those who are still suffering injuries from the destruction of Daiban and the events leading up to it."

"Will that be satisfactory to both sides?" U-Mos asked, standing up.

Ma'Kar and Kehlan both nodded. Eventually, Elric nodded in agreement as well, giving a sigh. He had really wanted the N'Kren and Ylla to send military aid so that he could stop Earth's secession before it occurred and take it over directly. However, he figured that some aid was better than none. If nothing else, he could scan the ships or ask for a sample of N'Kren and/or Ylla technology.

Upon seeing that all sides were satisfied, Ma'Kar then declared, "Very well, then, I call for this meeting to adjourn. We will be sending a shipment of supplies and materiel along with your fleet."

With that, everyone rose and Elric, U-Mos, and Kehlan each went back to their respective ships. Ma'Kar then called out, "Blaster, Blade, I need to speak with you."

The two guards then went over to him and asked, "What is it?"

"I want you to go with the shipment of food and medicine. I need to know more about the issues between Earth and this Galactic Federation. I highly doubt that the destruction of Daiban is why Earth is suddenly so hostile towards the rest of the Federation, especially when it is such an important member of it."

They both nodded. "Yes, Ma'Kar. It troubles us as well," Blade answered. "And if there is something else going on, what would you have us do?"

"Leave and report back here immediately," Ma'Kar answered. "Fight only if you need to defend yourselves. But don't hesitate _to_ defend yourselves with any and all necessary force if backed into a corner."

"Understood, sir," both of the humans replied. They then bowed and departed the room, leaving Ma'Kar alone with his thoughts. He could not help but be suspicious of Elric and his actions. Then, for some strange reason, his thoughts shifted to the Magic Lords, a long since defeated race. He then shook off the thought and proceeded to leave the room and get back to his normal work of running his homeworld.

Meanwhile, back on the Space Station _Moreau_, Samus rode the turbolift down to Main Engineering. As she descended to Main Engineering, she prepared herself for the likely defenses that she would encounter. She strongly suspected that Ridley would be there, or at the very least arrive there once she made her presence known to the Space Pirates inside Main Engineering. After a few seconds, Samus heard a chime and the elevator doors opened. Samus then stepped off of the turbolift and onto the Engineering Deck. The doors closed behind her, and the car began to rise.

As she emerged from the elevator, she saw the face of her nemesis, Ridley. She gritted her teeth at the sight of him and opened fire. Ridley suffered a direct hit to his chest, but the beam inflicted next to no damage since it was not charged. Ridley, knowing that he could not afford to be slowed down engaging Samus in a firefight, ran towards the cargo elevator a few meters away as Samus switched to her Ice Missiles and opened fire on him. Missile after missile leapt from her arm cannon and struck the fleeing beast in the back, inflicting noticeable, but not fatal, damage.

As Ridley neared the elevator, the doors slid open. He dove onboard the elevator after taking another Ice Missile to the back, grunting as he dove to the floor and crawled onto the lift. As the doors were closing, he stood erect and turned to face her, seeing that she was coming straight at him and that she might actually manage to get to the elevator and force a melee fight onboard the lift with him. Knowing that a fight was out of the question, he fired a single stream of Plasma towards her. Samus instinctively spin-jumped into a Screw Attack which deflected the plasma stream as it made contact with her Screw Attack field. Still, Ridley's attack had done its job. It had slowed her down until the elevator doors had closed and the lift ascended. She had hoped that she would get her chance to finish him off once and for all. For a second, she considered giving him chase, as he ascended to one of the Main Decks. She decided against it, though, deciding that it was better to neutralize the main Space Pirate threat, which was represented by this station, its fleet, and the clone of Aurora Unit Zero. She would get her chance to kill him one day.

She then marched forward down the corridor, seeing multiple doors on each wall. She checked her map and found that those doors led to research chambers and cloning chambers. The cloning and research chambers were of no real concern to her. Her primary concern was to neutralize the Aurora Unit Zero clone and blind the station to any threats that were about to arrive. It was not long before she arrived at the end of the corridor. Staring at her was a large set of double doors. The label on the doors read, _Main Engineering. No entry to unauthorized personnel_. Samus ignored the sign and stepped up to the doors. She quickly charged her stacked Plasma Beam, anticipating a firefight on the other side of the doors. She approached a keypad close to the doors and saw a large, green button on the bottom of the pad. She pressed the button and the doors clanked and then proceeded to slide open, gears grinding as the doors parted for the hunter. As the doors opened, Samus charged into Main Engineering, wishing to get the drop on any Space Pirates that may have been stationed inside.

Sure enough, upon entering, she found herself staring at no less than a dozen workers, most of them Zebesian Space Pirates. Samus immediately unleashed her charged Plasma Beam shot at the lead Zebesian and vaporized him with a single shot. Samus then took several shots at the other Zebesians, who were quickly returning fire on Samus, while simultaneously trying to find cover so that they would not get shot by her. Three Zebesians were unsuccessful in finding cover before Samus burned several large holes in their bodies with her Plasma Beam; the unfortunate Pirates falling over onto the ground, dead. The others, however, were fortunate enough to able to find some small amounts of cover and managed to hide while taking a few shots at Samus, themselves. The bounty hunter was too quick for them, though, and managed to dodge their aim so that when the Zebesians fired, their shots went wide. Samus's aim, though, was much more true and four more Zebesians fell, never to rise again.

Not long after she felled the second batch of Zebesians, a pair of Space Pirate Commandos arrived on the scene. Immediately upon spotting Samus, the Commandos opened fire on her; green plasma blasts sailing over her head. The hunter grimaced, knowing that these Pirates were far more formidable than the cannon fodder Zebesian grunts that she had been facing until the Commandos arrived. Even worse, though, was the fact that there were still Zebesians that had yet to be dealt with. Fortunately, she still had a way to deal with the Commandos and possibly the Zebesians at the same time. She continued to remain behind cover as she switched to her Ice Missiles and began to charge her cannon. As a bulge of blue energy formed around the opening of her cannon, she heard the Pirate Commandos grunt in their own language towards the Zebesians. Had she been watching them, she would have seen the eyes of the Zebesians go wide, for the Commandos had just ordered the surviving Zebesians to emerge from cover and draw Samus's fire. One of them had refused and was promptly shot dead by the Commando. Samus grimaced at the fact that her Omega Fusion Suit's translation software did not translate the Space Pirate language. Still, she did not let that bother her.

After a few moments, the other Zebesians hesitantly emerged from their cover and proceeded towards the bounty hunter. Samus then emerged from her own cover and targeted the two Commandos with her Diffusion Missile. The missile rocketed from her arm cannon and flew in a straight line right at the Space Pirates. The Commandos quickly dodged to one side, but the missile soon dipped and they realized all too late that Samus did not need to score a direct hit in order to freeze them. The missile soon struck the ground and detonated, a wave of freezing energy erupting from the epicenter of the explosion. The wave of energy washed over the Space Pirate Commandos and the Zebesians, freezing them solid. Given that the Commandos posed the greater threat, Samus charged her Plasma Beam and targeted the Commandos first. After two charged shots, one for each Commando, the Commandos were reduced to shards of ice. After the Commandos had been dealt with, she targeted the frozen Zebesians, who were already beginning to thaw. These Zebesians were reduced to ice shards after single uncharged shots. Once the Space Pirates had been dealt with, Samus proceeded forward.

Not too far ahead, Samus could see a large, glass-like stasis tank off in the distance. She stopped and then scanned the rest of the area. She found numerous consoles and other stations surrounding her as she scanned both the tank and the surrounding area. It was obvious that this was a secondary control center for the station. She also made note of the numerous energy turrets and Rinka projectors along the walls and on the ceiling. She focused her gaze on the stasis tank and noticed that no lights were shining on it. It was the only dark part of the room, only the edges being revealed. The lack of lighting was not hiding anything from Samus, though, for she knew that the clone of Aurora Unit Zero resided inside the tank. The fact that the tank was so heavily defended was evidence enough of that.

As she began to approach the tank, the lights surrounding the stasis tank lit up and revealed the large, mostly organic, brain inside that was the clone of Aurora Unit Zero. "Welcome, Samus Aran," the feminine sounding voice of Aurora Unit Zero's clone spoke. Samus could not help but notice the similarity between the clone's voice and Mother Brain's.

She did not respond. She merely activated her Scan Visor, which only provided shield and health information on the Aurora clone. She had been familiar enough with how to fight Aurora Units, having fought their predecessor, Mother Brain, twice, as well as having fought Aurora Unit 313 on Phaaze. Still, something was making her uneasy about the prospect of facing this clone of Aurora Unit Zero. Perhaps it was the fact that she was equipped with Ice Missiles, rather than normal missiles and/or Super Missiles and did not know how the Ice Missiles would affect the Aurora Unit clone. She knew that her energy weapons would be insufficient to destroy the stasis tank's outer covering. Aurora Unit Zero's clone then spoke again, "I am Aurora Clone Zero. You are not authorized to be present on this station. My directive is to kill you. Now die." Despite speaking in a perfectly even tone, Samus could tell that the Aurora Clone had all of the malice that Mother Brain and the other Space Pirates held towards her.

The Aurora Clone began the assault against Samus by ordering the turrets and the Rinka projectors to open fire on Samus. Blue energy pulses leapt from the many turrets inside of Main Engineering and rocketed right towards Samus. Golden energy rings then formed around the Rinka projectors and were soon unleashed towards her. She deftly dodged the targeting of the turrets and managed to avoid most of the energy pulses directed towards her. A few pulses managed to score a hit on her, though, and managed to drain most of an Energy Tank. The Rinkas were far easier to avoid, and she managed to dodge them with ease. The Rinkas bounced along the floor and off into the distance where they turned around and proceeded to home in on Samus. Samus switched back to her Plasma Beam and fired on the Rinkas. The energy rings sustained a couple of hits before they were dispersed by the plasma blasts of Samus's arm cannon. Still, every time, Samus managed to destroy a Rinka, another one appeared only a second or two later. Samus put that interval to good use, immediately switching back to her Ice Missiles and unleashed a volley of them against Aurora Clone Zero's stasis tank. Each missile erupted from her arm cannon and rocketed across the distance between Samus and the tank. The missiles struck the tank and exploded in an icy blast of freezing energy. Ice covered the covering of the tank with each explosion, which melted quickly. Samus examined the stasis tank's covering and noticed that the glass was beginning to crack. _Good_, Samus thought. _The Ice Missiles are still effective against the glass_.

Her satisfaction would be short-lived, though, as the Aurora Clone had her turrets and Rinka projectors zero in on Samus once more and fired. Again, Samus juked and jived around the energy pulses and Rinkas and managed to emerge from this barrage unscathed. The Aurora Clone then spoke again, "System access. Begin complete takeover of all linked Aurora Units. Directive: Initiate all self-destruct systems on all starship and space station facilities. Additional: Disable all escape pod launchers. Initiate!"

Samus's eyes went wide at the proclamation of the Aurora Clone. If what Aurora Clone Zero said was true, then all starships that had Aurora Units that had been linked to Aurora Unit Zero, and now to Aurora Clone Zero, had their self-destruct sequences activated. On most ships, that meant that the ships still had five minutes before the ships automatically self-destructed, usually given so that the entire crew would be able to evacuate the starships, though in some classes of ship and station, it varied from anywhere between one minute, and one hour. While the losses of the ships stations would be significant, the more significant cost would be in lives. With the escape pods no longer functioning due to Aurora Clone Zero's control, there was no way for the crews of the stranded ships to evacuate. Samus knew that she had to stop Aurora Clone Zero before it managed to initiate its final directive. Thousands, if not millions, of lives depended on it.

Samus then rushed close to the Aurora Clone and opened fire on the Clone with her Ice Missiles. Missile after missile erupted from her arm cannon as she unleashed a vicious assault on the Aurora Unit. Each explosion against the transparent covering of the stasis tank caused it to crack more and more. Shards of glass were ejected with each explosion as the tank cracked. Eventually, the tank's covering shattered and hole appeared in the stasis covering that Samus could fire through. All the while, though, the Aurora Clone unleashed a vicious volley of fire on Samus. Searing blue pulses of energy erupted from the turrets and zeroed in on the bounty hunter as she danced back and forth and managed to avoid some of the pulses of energy, thus avoiding some of the damage that the Aurora Clone was trying to inflict on her. However, the Rinkas were now becoming a little harder to avoid due to the volume of fire, and each Rinka that managed to hit, took off almost an entire Energy Tank off of Samus's reserve. As such, she knew that she had to take out the Aurora Clone not only before it managed to shut down a noticeable portion of the Galactic Federation fleet and other space forces, but also before she succumbed to the withering assault the Aurora Clone was unleashing on her.

Samus continued to unleash missile after missile upon the Aurora Clone. Each explosion bathed the Aurora Clone in a wave of freezing energy, but did not freeze the Aurora solid. Even with the combined might of the Ice Missile volley, the Aurora Clone remained unfrozen. However, the Clone did not escape the volley unscathed. With each hit, the Aurora Clone let out a sound that seemed to be cross between a grunt and a cry. It was almost identical to the sound Mother Brain let out when she was hit with missile fire when she had fought Mother Brain both times on Zebes. Samus continued to fire on the Aurora Clone, the tank's transparent covering shattering even further with each subsequent missile strike. Samus checked the red bar on the top part of her HUD that indicated that the Aurora Clone was losing health. Still, it was not decreasing at the rate she was hoping for, for she, too was suffering damage. She gave off a grunt as a Rinka struck her in the chest, taking off another Energy Tank. So far, due to the combined fire of the turrets and the Rinkas, she had lost eight Energy Tanks of her initial twenty. Given the rate that she was losing health, per hit, compared to the damage she was inflicting to the Aurora Clone, she did not know whether she would win the battle of attrition. However, she knew that she had to, for if she let up on the Aurora Clone, the clone would be able to disable almost every Aurora Unit equipped ship within a radius of ten thousand light-years.

The exchange continued for the next whole minute. Samus did nothing to avoid the enemy fire, save for moving to her right, left, forward, and backwards a few steps so as to avoid the energy pulses. She had lost seven more Energy Tanks, leaving only five left, and she then took a hit from a turret that took off more than forty units of energy. However, the Aurora Clone was in worse shape. She could see that it was already looking discolored, like an undead zombie version of its original form. It did not look like the Aurora Unit was going to last much longer. Samus pressed her attack, launching more missiles at the Aurora Clone. After a dozen more missiles struck the Clone and detonated, she heard the Aurora Clone give off a cry of pain and shock. The clone gave off short, disjointed phrases, saying, "Error…damage," and finally, "Abort."

Explosions then rocked the entire stasis tank, or what was left of it. The Aurora Clone convulsed and pulsated before it exploded into a shower of DNA. Samus then switched to her Plasma Beam and charged a single blast of plasma. She then unleashed the plasma on the remains of the Aurora Clone and let the fires produced from the plasma blast consume the entity's remains. After a few seconds, the remains of the Aurora Clone were consumed by flames and all traces of Aurora Clone Zero were gone.

Upon the Aurora Clone's destruction, the turrets and Rinka projectors abruptly ceased functioning. The Rinkas that were still floating around the room merely caromed off the wall until Samus shot and dispersed them with single shots from her beam. The battle against the Aurora Clone was over, however, Samus knew that her mission was not over yet. She heard no countdown clock or warning of imminent self-destruction, not yet, anyway. She hoped that the station would not automatically self-destruct, for if she managed to disable all of its defenses, Admiral Dane's forces could take it and use the information to try and track down any Space Pirate survivors. She then proceeded to scan the rest of the area. Her scans indicated that life support was still functioning onboard the station at full power. She went over to one of the computer consoles inside the room and attempted to find out the status of the computer. As she suspected, the main computer was down, but the backups had already taken over most functions. However, she knew that the station still had some problems, which were evident on the monitor. Without Aurora Clone Zero, the external sensors of the station were not functioning, rendering the station practically blind. Samus typed in a series of commands on the console and got a full report on the current condition of the station. The external sensors, internal and external communications were down, as were the shields. In addition, the secondary computers did not have strong anti-hacking measures and all of the data in the memory banks of the station was there for the picking.

Samus noticed a Rinka-shaped icon on the top right part of the screen. She pressed her finger against the icon on the screen. The screen quickly changed and Samus saw the image of Elric appeared on the screen. Sitting across from him was an Urtragian Space Pirate Trooper. The Chairman appeared to be sitting in a dark room on an unknown planet with a green sky, which was visible out the window. It appeared to be evening on the unknown world. "Is the data all there?" the Space Pirate Trooper asked Elric.

Elric nodded. "It is. This is everything you should need in order to launch your assault on Galactic Federation Headquarters. It also has the location of the transport ship, _Putze_. That ship should be able to hold enough troops for this assault to be successful and with the Federation registry, you should be able to jump in without setting off any early warning systems."

"Excellent," the Space Pirate responded. "Ridley will love this."

"Just remember the agreement," Elric warned sternly. "Don't kill me in your attack. Everyone else is fair game, but whatever you do, make sure that Councilman Colin Williams and Councilwoman Madeline Powell die in the attack. I have given you their dossiers so you and your troops should know what they look like."

"We will be sending Zebesians to launch the attack, so don't worry too much about targets."

"Zebesians?" Elric gasped. "Why them? They're the weakest and the least intelligent of all Space Pirate breeds!"

"Yet, they also make great cannon fodder," the Space Pirate responded with a smart tone. "After all, you were designing an elite Special Forces unit around them, weren't you?"

"That was because they had quickness, and were malleable," Elric retorted sharply. "They're great shock troops if you want everything in front of them dead. When there are other targets that you don't want harmed, they're an unknown factor."

"Well, I guess you'll have to learn that they might not be as stupid as you were making them out to be."

"But the troops you'll be using are Federation designed Zebesians," Elric countered, a little worried about how things were turning out.

The Space Pirate Trooper laughed at the Chairman's concern. "That's your problem," he responded. "We're working with what you gave us on the station. That is, of course, unless you wish to give us a little more information on the subject…" the Space Pirate gave a menacing smile.

Elric immediately backed down, admitting, "You have a point. But still, let the Zebesians know that I'm not a target."

"We will," the Space Pirate assured him, waving his hand off as if it should be of no concern. "But make certain of one thing, Elric. Don't betray us or sell us out, for we have information on all of your dirty little secrets." The Space Pirate then gave Elric a sinister grin. "_All_ of them," he reiterated.

"I won't," Elric quickly assured him, fear evident on his face. His response seemed to satisfy the Pirate, for the Pirate then moved and departed from Elric's presence. However, as he left, he muttered in a sinister tone, "But don't be surprised if a few energy bolts come your way. We wouldn't want to make it look like you were in on it after all. Not that it will matter with what we really have in store for your capital. Though, maybe you'll thank us, eventually." With that, the Space Pirate departed from Elric's presence. It was there that the screen went blank. Samus, however, noticed that there was both a replay button, as well as a download icon on the screen.

She then looked for a disk or other device that she could download the data onto. She soon found a round, blank DVD-like disk on a table not too far away from the console. She grabbed the disk and plugged it into the drive. Then she pressed her finger against the "download" icon and waited for the data to be downloaded onto the disk. As the data was being downloaded, Samus opened a channel to Adam. "Adam, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Samus," Adam replied.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. The ship has remained undetected."

"Good," Samus replied. "I need you to bring the ship to the station as quickly as possible. I've come across a data recording that I have downloaded onto a disk. It contains information vital to the survival of the Galactic Federation. It's about Elric and the events on Daiban. He gave the Space Pirates information on Galactic Federation Headquarters, as well as the location transport they used in order to launch their attack. I wouldn't be surprised if they used the information Elric gave them to plan their attack on Aurora Unit Zero as well.

"You have confirmation of that?" Adam asked, astounded.

"I have the data recording right here. Everything else is secondary right now. We need to get this information back to Earth and to the rest of the Federation as quickly as. Only the Radio Tower on Earth can broadcast a signal capable of reaching most of the known galaxy."

"I'll meet you in the main hangar bay," Adam replied. "From what I can tell, it's not too far away from your current location, just a few levels up." Adam was about to cut the channel when he noticed Ridley flying out from the main hangar bay and headed towards one of the Space Pirate ships. "Samus, I've spotted Ridley leaving the station and headed towards a frigate! According to my scans, its FTL engines have powered up and are ready to go. What are your orders?" he announced.

Samus's eyes went wide with surprise at the statement. _Ridley running from the station, even though the Federation had not yet arrived_? she thought. There was no way that he would run when there was no clear risk besides a potential fight with her. And she knew that he would be loath to run from a fight with her. He hated her almost as much as she hated him. He would not flee the station unless it was either set to self-destruct on a silent countdown, or he had an even more important mission. Samus thought about telling Adam to go after Ridley, but she decided against it. While her gunship was heavily armed, it was no match for the Space Pirate frigate, much less the fleet assembled at the station; and if she went after Ridley, the rest of the fleet would likely detect her ship due to its weapons fire. Eventually, Samus told Adam, "Adam, scan the station. Is there a self-destruct protocol that has been activated yet?"

"No, lady," Adam replied.

"Then continue to the hangar bay and meet me there," she told him. "Getting this information to Earth is more important than chasing down Ridley, or almost anything else for that matter. We can't risk losing this information."

"Are you sure it's wise to give this to Earth?" Adam asked. "The people of Earth are already angry enough at the Federation as is. This will merely add fuel to the fire of their hatred now that they have irrefutable proof that Elric is evil _and_ that he was in on the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters. This will prove that Earth was right and most of the rest of the Federation was wrong. This could easily result in a civil war."

"I know," Samus admitted quietly. "But Earth is the only planet with a transmitter that can reach the outer planets of the Federation. With Aurora Unit One, it can also transmit the data between any and all uninfected Aurora Units as well."

Adam could see Samus's point. She knew that this could either result in both sides in the Federation making peace, knowing that Elric was manipulating the situation the entire time. Adam then told Samus, "Hurry to the hangar bay, Samus, the fleet's arrived!"

Outside the _Space Lab_ _Moreau_, thirty-six Galactic Federation warships emerged from warp merely a thousand kilometers away from the station. Leading the fleet was the _G.F.S Olympus_, under the command of Admiral Castor Dane. As the ships emerged from warp, they immediately opened fire on closest of the Space Pirate warships. The Kraken-class troopship and the Gehenna-class dreadnaught had been caught with their shields down and were the first to fall, red lances of energy erupting from the three Olympus-class battleships, and a couple Asgard-class heavy cruisers, and slicing into the unshielded ships like hot knives through soft butter. The unfortunate ships exploded within mere seconds of each other, unleashing huge clouds of shrapnel which destroyed several smaller Space Pirate fighters and transports in the process. The bright explosions nearly blinded those near the windows of the Space Pirate ships looking at the massacre in the making. Meanwhile, the other Federation ships focused on the other starships in the burgeoning Space Pirate fleet, managing to take out one of the Space Pirate controlled Asgard-class heavy cruisers before the rest of the Space Pirate ships managed to get their shields up and fight back, or attempt to flee. However, the Federation Admiral had sent a task force of six capital ships, one Olympus-class battleship, two Asgard-class heavy cruisers, and three Griffin-class frigates to cut off the escape routes for the Space Pirate forces. These ships were augmented by several Anhur-class patrol transports, Aries-class transports, and several squadrons of Stiletto-class starfighters and the newer Katana-class starfighters as well. Any realistic hopes for an escape were quickly dashed. The Space Pirates soon realized that they had to stand and fight, if for no other reason than to try to give the Federation a bloody nose.

The Space Pirate ships eventually managed to start fighting back, but by the time they did, it was far too late to do much of anything, already having lost almost a third of their fleet while inflicting no losses whatsoever to the Federation fleet. Their remaining Asgard-class heavy cruiser quickly fell to the withering fire of the Federation fleet, and the remaining starships in the now meager Space Pirate fleet would not do much to the vastly superior Federation starships. The Ba'al and Moloch-class cruisers and Unicorn-class destroyers were no match for the Olympus-class battleships and Asgard-class heavy cruisers that formed the core of the Federation armada. In addition, the Space Pirates also had to contend with the Anhur and Aries-class transports and the numerous starfighters that the Federation ships were launching at them. It took only a few minutes for the Federation fleet to wipe out the vast majority of the Space Pirate warships, with only half a dozen capital ships managing to escape the massacre, one of them being the _Siriacus_, the sole remaining Space Pirate frigate from the original Space Pirate fleet.

Ridley flew through space as the battle erupted around him, watching helplessly as the Federation fleet arrived and opened fire on the Space Pirate starships. He closed his eyes as the scarlet lances of energy burned through the Kraken-class transport and Gehenna-class battleship. Those ships had been so useful in the capture of other starships as well as in the annihilation of small Federation taskforces that had been disabled by Aurora Clone Zero's signal. He quickly noticed the Space Pirate frigate, one of the only remaining starships from the original Space Pirate Starfleet, coming over to the station in order to use it for cover. He knew that the frigate was his only chance out of here and he proceeded to fly straight towards the frigate. The frigate soon ducked behind the station for cover as the frigate lowered its shields and proceeded to allow Ridley to board. In a few seconds, Ridley approached the ship as Federation fighters were beginning to approach. Ridley flew through the hatch and it quickly closed, allowing the ship to raise its shields before the fighters could open fire on it. Just as the shields were raised, the fighters unleashed a barrage of missiles on the Space Pirate frigate, but the shields managed to absorb the blasts and the ship remained undamaged. The frigate, knowing that the rest of the Pirate fleet, and the station, would not last long, then jumped into warp, leaving the remaining Space Pirates behind, only six capital ships, with less than two thousand Space Pirates, escaping the massacre.

Meanwhile, back onboard the station, Samus quickly departed Main Engineering as she felt the station shudder from the impact of a Federation energy beam or missile strike. She realized that did not have a lot of time before the station was obliterated, studying her map as she ran down the corridor, back to the destroyed turbolift. She immediately boarded the lift and took it to the hangar level. She ascended the ten levels necessary and got off at the hangar level.

Once she arrived in the corridor, she found several Zebesian Space Pirates running around as if they had no force to guide them. Samus glanced out the view port and saw the Galactic Federation fleet slaughtering the Space Pirate fleet assembled at the station out of the corner of her eye, along with the Zebesians watching in horror as they realized that the fate of the Space Pirate ships would soon be their own fate as well. However, they made no attempt to flee the station, merely staring out into space as they witnessed one of the Ba'al-class medium cruisers explode, a bright light erupting from the center of the ship, a telltale sign that the reactor had breached. The debris flung from the center of the ship took out a large portion of the ship's fighter support in the process. Samus ran past the Zebesians, none of them taking the time to look behind them or turn to face her as they caught her reflection on the glass. The Zebesians seemed resigned to their fate with no attempt being made to deny her a chance to escape, a sharp contrast to every other Zebesian Space Pirate encounter she had under the same circumstances.

Samus continued down the corridor, making a beeline for the hangar bay. She saw on her map that she was fast approaching the doors. However, a couple of Super Zebesians jumped out in front of her. These were more eager to fight and take her down with the rest of the station. Her sensors indicated that a force field had activated a few meters behind her. It was fortuitous that it had, for the force field was now holding back a wave of flame, likely generated when one of the Federation ship's energy beams had pierced the shields and the hull of the station. Samus switched to her Ice Missiles and charged a Diffusion Missile. After a couple of seconds, the missile was charged and she unleashed it upon the Zebesians. The missile struck them and detonated, engulfing them in a wave of frigid energy. She did not bother to shatter the frozen Pirates, for she could not waste the time. The station was under attack and if the Federation fleet was not careful, they could end up destroying the station before managing to board it and capture it.

Making her way past the Zebesians, she approached the door to the hangar bay. As she ran towards it, the doors began to slide open. She saw several blue pulses flash past her helmet, as well as an impact to her back. She soon saw that she lost almost fifty energy units from an Energy Tank. Turning around, she saw a large number of Zebesian Space Pirates, as well as several Urtragian Space Pirate Troopers in hot pursuit of her. She did not bother to return fire and she merely fled the oncoming horde and entered the landing bay, hoping to reach her ship before a lucky, or unlucky, shot annihilated the station.

As she entered the hangar bay, she saw her ship a dozen meters in the distance, hovering off the ground, its engines already active. Samus heard Adam over the radio calling to her, "The ship's fired up and ready to go, Samus!"

Samus made no reply as she merely rushed down the walkway that led to her gunship. Twin energy cannon emerged from the front of the ship as Samus approached the ship and as she arrived underneath the boarding hatch to be taken onboard the ship, red pulses of energy erupted from the cannons. The pulses of energy fell among the Space Pirates and the explosions that resulted sent the Pirates, or what remained of them, flying in all directions. Once Samus was onboard, the gunship turned and rocketed out of the hangar bay and into outer space.

Once her ship was in space, Samus took her seat at the pilot's station. She watched as the Olympus and the rest of the fleet finished off the last Space Pirate starship, a captured Unicorn-class destroyer, and then focused its fire on the station. Samus was surprised that the damage to the station did not look nearly as bad on the outside as she had initially suspected when the station's emergency force fields had held back a raging firestorm in the corridor that she had been occupying. She turned away from the fleet, which had not suffered any losses during the attack, as ships began to surround the station and transports began to attach themselves to the hull, and other ships fly into the hangar bay. She knew that the Space Pirates would not stand a chance against the well-trained Marines that would spearhead the attack. It was only a matter of time before the station fell into Federation hands. With that thought, she powered up her warp drive and jumped into subspace.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Kreatz and Mauk flew inside their shuttle, along with two of their initial force of Watchmen, as well as a few reinforcements as well. Kreatz looked into the back of the shuttle and saw the tall blond-haired woman dressed in a black shirt and black pants named Cynthia and wondered why Elric had wanted her incarcerated so badly. Yes, she was the Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion, but the members of the Pokémon League were not generally involved in politics. She was also joined by several other humans, one of which was a human girl, approximately eleven years old with dark blue hair that came down just below her shoulders and blue eyes. She wore a short sleeveless black dress with pink outline on the skirt and pink boots that reached almost to her knees. He then examined the other prisoners, a teenaged boy with brown hair, tanned skin that was darker than that of the other prisoners, wearing a green shirt with an orange and brown vest over it, along with khaki pants. He constantly squinted, so Kreatz could not identify the prisoner's eye color. There were a few other prisoners as well that stood out. Among them was a man immediately recognized as Captain Douglass Jay Falcon, the famous bounty hunter and F-Zero racer. He was dressed in a blue flight suit with a red helmet and black visor. To the right of the captain, there was a large, brown ape that the dossiers identified as Donkey Kong. Kreatz looked at the dossiers and had trouble believing that a bunch of teenagers, preteens, an F-Zero racer, and an overgrown ape could pose so much trouble to Elric. He then went back to the cockpit and sat beside Mauk, who piloted the ship.

"Okay Mauk, who's next on the list?" he asked.

"The representative of Earth, Councilman Williams," Mauk answered. "We've been ordered to take him to Elric as soon as he returns.

A voice then cried out from the rear, demanding, "Tell us why we were arrested by the Galactic Federation." Kreatz turned and saw that it was the girl in the exceedingly risqué dress.

"I could think of a number of reasons, miss," Kreatz answered. "But suffice to say, you are in possession of bioweapons."

The girl recoiled in shock. "Bioweapons?"

Kreatz and the other Watchmen onboard nodded. "Yes. Those Pokémon, as you call them, have been classified as bioweapons and must be confiscated."

"You can't do that!" the girl protested. "They're my friends, not bioweapons!"

"Listen miss…Dawn," one of the officers then said, matching her face to a picture on one of the dossiers, "possession of bioweapons is illegal and Pokémon _were_ originally developed as bioweapons."

"Maybe in the past, they were," Cynthia retorted. "But that was centuries ago, before the Earth unified and before it joined the Galactic Federation. Pokémon have since been incorporated into traditional biological taxonomies and now also have rights of their own. You most certainly did not have a problem with Pokémon when we joined the Galactic Federation three decades ago."

"Times change," Kreatz answered harshly.

"They do indeed," Cynthia agreed. "If I remember correctly, you used to be a police officer and a person to be respected and honored. I heard of your part in the averting of a disaster almost a year ago and the revelations brought to light about Elric's crimes. Now, you're nothing but a legalized criminal and a thug, serving the one man you had one exposed as a criminal. Without Elric, the Watchmen have no power or political support. Heck, even now, you're still being challenged. And that's what this is all about, isn't it? Elric is scared of what will come to light. For him, the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters and the destruction of Daiban were blessings."

For a fleeting moment, Kreatz felt the urge to strike Cynthia across the face for her accusation of being nothing than a "legalized criminal", but he resisted. He then relaxed and frowned, since could not disagree with what the woman had said. Joining the Watchmen had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. He did not like the mandate of the Watchmen and deceiving the people of Earth, using their compassion for those who had lost their own world, just to get agents here so that any potential rebellion could be stopped before it began, but he knew that for the good of the Federation, it had to be done. But had it been for the good of the Federation? Earth, which had once been a very open world as long as no one brought any trouble to it, was now highly mistrustful of anyone who was non-human, Pokémon, or Cetacean. The people of Earth were even now beginning to be mistrustful of _humans_ that were not from their own colonies, Aliehs III, or Corella 5.

After a few seconds, the image of Elric's face appeared on the screen. "Kreatz, Mauk, report in," Elric demanded curtly. "I have not heard anything from you for a while."

"Sir," Mauk began, "we have currently rounded up eight dissidents and enemies, according to the dossiers you gave us. One of the prisoners that you sent us to apprehend was killed while avoiding arrest and trying to flee. Civilians got involved and casualties were suffered on both sides."

"Who was killed?" Elric asked sternly.

"Pokémon Trainer Leaf," Kreatz answered in a melancholy tone. "She was only twelve," he continued.

The two of them then saw Elric's face light up on the screen as if this was the best news that he had heard in a long time. "Can you confirm this?" he asked in a tone that the others could not help but think was hopeful.

"We can," Kreatz said glumly. He stepped aside and then told one of the officers, "Bring the body and show it to the Chairman for confirmation."

"Yes, Commander," the Watchman replied as he went back into a cargo container and dragged the substitute of Leaf out to show Elric.

Elric gazed at the body and a grin began to twist his lips. Kreatz and Mauk were dumbfounded at Elric's glee. The other Watchmen, however, seemed to have no issues with Elric's behavior. "Were any of the other Priority One threats detained?" Elric asked.

"Yes," Mauk answered. "We also managed to get a hold of Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon as well. We are also on our way to apprehend Councilman Williams right now. We have tracked him to the Capitol Building in Washington D.C."

"Good. Once he is captured, make sure that all of the prisoners are executed immediately."

"All of them, sir?" Kreatz and Mauk stammered. They could hardly believe what had come from Elric's mouth. Most of the prisoners were only children. Merely capturing them on some trumped up charges had been hard enough as was.

"Yes," Elric roared in response. "All of them! They are menaces to the Galactic Federation and their threat must be neutralized permanently! You have your orders, officer! Carry them out! I am already on my way back to Earth along with some help and much needed supplies. I will be having a face-to-face meeting with Cyrus upon my return. I want the job done by then. Elric out." With that, the screen went blank.

Both Kreatz and Mauk slumped back into their seats. Both of the Watchmen leaders gazed at each other, then at the other officers, some of who were leering back at the prisoners, and then back at the prisoners. "This isn't what I signed up for," Kreatz said quietly to Mauk. "Is this really necessary?"

"We've come this far, Kreatz," Mauk replied. "We knew what we might have to do when we signed up to be Watchmen."

"I know," Kreatz lamented. "I just did not expect it to come down to killing children. Cynthia, I could possibly understand since she is a Pokémon League Champion and the League is speaking out against the Federation. Maybe Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon, but that would be stretching it. But Dawn? Brock? Lyra? Ethan? What have they done?"

"I agree with you," Mauk told him.

"But orders are orders, sir," one of the golden-armored soldiers interjected. "When the time comes, we will have to carry out our directives."

Kreatz and Mauk then nodded in a melancholy fashion and sat back down in their seats as they flew over a city in the Johto region of Japan and began their long flight to New York City.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Samus's gunship hurtled through subspace as Samus sat in the pilot's seat, meditating and reflecting on recent events onboard the _Space Lab Moreau_. She absently gripped the disk that contained the recording of Elric's treachery. If the information was legitimate, and not a Space Pirate trick, then this could change everything with regards to how people viewed Elric. Elric's policies had received a great deal of criticism from Earth, and Earth close to the point of secession. However, Earth was not the only planet concerned with Elric's new policies. Aliehs III and Corella 5 were other planets of great importance to the Galactic Federation that had become greatly concerned over what they, and most of the planets in Sol, saw as a gross abuse of the powers granted to Elric. Samus also remembered that Earth, Aliehs III and Corella 5 all did not vote to grant Elric emergency powers, and had been some of the few planets that spoke out against Elric filling in the vacant seats on the Council after the attack on Daiban. If the information on the disk was, indeed, true, then it was likely that Elric staged the entire attack on Daiban specifically so that he could not only claim emergency powers, but also be able to put his own people in place so that he would have a solid voting bloc that would accede to his wishes. After all, they would owe Elric a great deal. Samus soon realized that there was another issue with Elric…his Vice-Chairman Cyrus. The people of Earth were very wary of Cyrus when he became the Vice-Chairman. In fact, there were rumors that Cyrus had been a known criminal on Earth, and a dangerous one at that. The recording that had been uncovered by Samus on _Research Facility 777_ had only intensified those rumors. While the recordings had not been confirmed to have been real by Federation data analysts before the events on Daiban, where most of the information was lost upon its destruction, Samus strongly suspected that the analysts may well have been on the payroll of Elric. While there was no proof of Cyrus's criminal activity that had been released, given the events of the past year, Samus would not have been surprised if Cyrus had been shown to be a criminal, or even someone who had a hand in former Chairman Keaton's assassination.

She then looked out the window and saw the rings of bluish-white energy that flowed past her cockpit, as if she were traveling through a tunnel. She still had a couple of hours or so before she reached Earth. She sat back in her chair uneasily once more when she heard Adam's voice speak over the ship's speakers, "Penny for your thoughts."

Samus bolted up, startled at the sound of Adam's voice. At first, she did not say anything, her thoughts being too muddled at the moment. Deep down, she had a bad feeling about what would happen once this information was released to the rest of the Federation, but she also felt as if the Federation needed to know what she knew. "Things are about to get bad," Samus eventually answered. "Really bad. If the information in this recording is shown to be accurate, then it could very well start a civil war. We must be ready."

"I know," Adam agreed. "And the worst thing is that Elric must have already been preparing for this," he continued. "After the deaths of almost a third of the Federation Council, he placed his own people in the vacant seats. They will owe him when he takes power, or risk him revealing their dark secrets. Even should everything you found out about Elric be true, he will still have a great deal of support from other planets. Elric is forcing other rich worlds, mainly Earth, to feed some of the poorer or less developed worlds and colonies. Those worlds that are benefiting from Elric's policies may fervently support Elric, regardless of what his actions did to the Council, or possibly even to Daiban."

Samus nodded at Adam's sentiment. Earth would accuse Elric of setting up the killings of many members of the Galactic Federation Council so that he could get his people on the Council so that they would vote to give him emergency powers. And in return, he would give them gifts, such as making them sector governors, which he was already beginning to do. The only thing that was blocking Elric's complete takeover was the fact that Earth, Aliehs III and Corella 5 were all rejecting his proposals, and they had the clout of being three of the primary starship manufacturers inside the Galactic Federation. However, she had already heard rumors that Elric was countering by basically pitting the rest of the Federation against the humans, since Earth, Aliehs III and Corella 5 were human planets, and also some of the biggest producers of food, materiel, and military equipment in the Federation.

Samus then glanced down at the eye on the computer screen in front of her that represented Adam and asked, "So, have you managed to get any reports on the fates of the ships that Aurora Clone Zero took control of during my battle during my battle with it?"

"I have," Adam replied in an upbeat tone. "I am pleased to say that each and every ship and station that Aurora Clone Zero had gained control of through their Aurora Units was saved when Aurora Clone Zero was killed. The Aurora Units are already having their memories purged so as to wipe away any trace remnants of Aurora Clone Zero that may have been transmitted to them. This will keep the ships quarantined for a bit, but once the process is completed, they should be just fine."

"How many ships had Aurora Clone Zero managed to control?"

"About two thousand," Adam answered. "In essence, about a quarter of the Federation fleet, pre nationalization of all member world militaries, of course."

Samus breathed a sigh of relief. A potential disaster had been averted. While in the grand scheme of things, two thousand ships was not a large number, especially given the tens of thousands of capital ships that the Federation now had access to with each of its member worlds now having their militaries being nationalized by the Federation, the losses would have been very significant since they would have likely represented large portions of a fleet that might not serve Elric if his policies, or rather his enforcement of those policies, got too far out of hand. Samus still knew that a great deal of work still had to be done.

She then input a few commands into the communications console, opening a heavily encrypted channel to the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. After a few seconds of static, the face of President Richardson of Earth, along with Councilman Colin Williams, Earth's representative on the Galactic Federation Council. The President appeared to be in his early to mid-fifties with dark hair that was beginning to gray. "This is Samus Aran calling President Richardson of Earth, do you read me?"

"I read you loud and clear," the President and Councilman Williams answered.

"I have obtained important information from _Space Lab Moreau_. This could be vital to not only to Federation security, but also to Earth and its coalition in its bargaining with Elric and the rest of the Federation."

"Send us the data and we'll analyze it."

"I can't risk sending such sensitive data over an open feed," Samus replied. "I am going to come to you directly to have it scanned. If it is confirmed, I'll then take it to the Radio Tower in New York City. A transmission from the Radio Tower can reach even the farthest reaches of the Federation. Also, please get your best data analysts for this. I want to be absolutely certain that the data is legitimate before we send it out."

She saw Councilman Williams and President Richardson talk quietly with each other. After a minute or so, Williams responded, "Okay, Samus. We'll be waiting. But we can't afford any mistakes to be made in this. We are going to take precautions should this be a setup. You should take some precautions too. The Watchmen are everywhere down here and I'm certain that they're setting up sensor outposts and subspace radio receivers to pick up on transmissions, even encrypted transmissions."

"A good idea, sir," Samus responded.

"We're looking forward to seeing you," both men said as the screen went blank and the channel was closed.

After the channel closed, Samus sat back in her seat. For a second, she was wondering if she should have been a little more suspicious of the ease with which they had agreed to meet her. Still, after thinking it over, she decided that it was worth the risk. Besides her, at the moment, no one hated Chairman Elric more than Councilman Williams. He and Elric were quite clearly political enemies. Heck, Elric had a ton of political enemies, but there was something different about the enmity between him and Colin Williams. Samus had seen the same within his friend, Councilwoman Madeline Powell of Mars. They had both remained behind to help coordinate the evacuation of Daiban along with a few others, particularly representatives of Aliehs III and Corella 5, when the rest of the survivors of the Council Massacre had fled. As such, she felt as if she could trust them. With that thought in mind, she sat back in her chair and took this opportunity to get some rest, letting the hours pass by as her ship hurried towards Earth.

Down on Earth, inside the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., America, Councilman Colin Williams of Earth, Councilwoman Madeline Powell of Mars, the representatives of Aliehs III, Corella 5, Colony Z-1A, and several other worlds sat with President Jonathan Richardson. "So, do you think this is legitimate?" the President asked the others.

"Samus is trustworthy," Councilman Williams answered. "She has saved the galaxy many times over, sometimes at a cost in terms of either payment or respect, as was seen when she was put on trial for the destruction of the BSL research facility."

"That's not what I meant?" Richardson clarified. "I meant, do you think that it was Samus that was speaking to us? We already know about one attempt to clone her by Elric. What better way to get us all out in the open and take us out than to give us everything we could have ever wanted in terms of taking down Elric?"

"I admit, there is a risk," Powell said. "However, what choice do we have right now? Elric is rampaging over the rights and privileges of all sentient beings on Earth, Aliehs III, Corella 5, etcetera. How long do you think it will be until he holds the entire Federation in an iron grip and starts trampling on the rights of everyone else?"

"I agree," one of the other Council Members, a human male from Aliehs III stated, nodding. "We have to do something now, before it's too late. We have a unique opportunity to end this before the situation dissolves into a civil war."

"Very well," Richardson eventually said. "But take every precaution you can. Even if Samus is not a clone and this is not a trap, there is still the chance that Elric could have found out about Samus's transmission and is going to come to Earth to try and stop this transmission."

"We will," Williams assured him. "I also recommend bringing in a contingent of Marines, just in case any Watchmen try to take control of Earth's defense grid. That would be the most expedient way to cut off Samus's access to Earth."

The President nodded in agreement. "And it will also grant him near complete control of Earth as well," he added. Once the discussion had concluded, the others went to the back to make the calls to the necessary personnel and defenses so that they could prepare for Samus's arrival, as well as any assault the Galactic Federation would launch on the planet.

Onboard _Federation One_, Elric sat at his desk in his private office as the ship was making its way back to Earth at its best possible speed. He looked down at his computer, which displayed his ship in the center of the display, along with his escorts, and the shipment of food and medical supplies. He was not thrilled about having to ask the N'Kren for help, mainly because they were mortal enemies of his masters, the Magic Lords, and he feared that they may have suspected him of serving the Magic Lords once again. Still, there had been no indication of them knowing about his service to the Magic Lords. He was safe, for the moment.

Soon, a small chime sounded and a red light was flashing on the computer screen. He pushed a button and the face of the Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, appeared. "So, how did it go?" Elric asked.

"It went better than we could have possibly hoped," Lorenz answered with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. "The Cornerian government was more than willing to lend us war materiel to assist us in the destruction of the Space Pirates and so that we could effect repairs to our damaged ships that are shoring up the Kriken Border."

"What's so great about that?" Elric asked. "That's what we were asking for to begin with, anyway."

Lorenz answered, "In exchange for us helping to improve the shielding on their fighters, General Peppy Hare, the Supreme General of all of Corneria's forces asked the Star Fox Team to assist us."

"The Star Fox Team?" Elric asked, not recognizing the name.

"A group of mercenary soldiers with highly advanced weapons and technology," Lorenz answered. "They were famous for defeating the evil Emperor Andross, who had declared war on Corneria and on all of its allied planets; destroying the Aparoids, and fighting back the Anglars. While the Star Fox Team, and Corneria's armed forces, are not willing to directly get involved in any civil conflicts, they are willing to help us hold the line against the Kriken Empire, assuming we send them some help for dealing with the remnants of Andross's forces and the Venomian rebellion. If nothing else, it will free up some ships to help us out should Earth and the other problem planets secede."

"Do it!" Elric told him elatedly.

"Understood, Chairman," Lorenz replied. "Oh, one more thing, while the Star Fox Team was not going to fight any civil conflicts for us, yet, they were willing to sell us some of their Landmaster tanks. They were expensive, but given their designs, I think that they were well worth the investment. If nothing else, we can study their technology and use that knowledge to improve our own armor. We're sending them to Earth and other hotspots as we speak, though I had the Defense Department keep a couple in reserve for study so we could use them to enhance our own armor."

"Good work," Elric complimented Rickard Lorenz. "When you're finished, join me at Earth and bring your armor. We're going to have a little talk with Cyrus."

"Yes, sir," Lorenz responded as the screen went blank.

Elric was about to return to his work when two figures appeared from a shadow in the corner of his office. Elric heard the lock on his door activate and knew that any override signal would be jammed. "How may I be of service to you?" he asked the two figures, who he knew to be the Magic Lords from before, Aglara and Aramon, cautiously as he rose and genuflected before them.

"We heard that your men killed one of the Chosen Heroes," Aramon answered. "Is it true?"

Elric nodded. "It is. The Pokémon Trainer Leaf, also known as Mia Ketchum, is dead. They showed me the body. We also have the heroes Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon in captivity. I am returning to Earth this moment so I can ensure the destruction of any resistance on that world before it forms and spreads to other worlds."

"The resistance has already formed," Aglara told him. "It won't do you any good to kill the Councilman of Earth. The discontent with your policies will most certainly spread, even, or rather, especially, with Councilman Williams and the others dead. Just make sure that the Chosen Heroes are killed. And tell your people to kill Donkey Kong, Captain Falcon, and all of the other prisoners onboard their shuttle immediately. As for the others, there are still a great many more heroes that have been identified but are not yet dead. What about Mia's twin brother, Pokémon trainer, Ash Ketchum?"

"His location has yet to be confirmed," Elric answered, "but sources indicate that he is traveling in the Unova Region of America."

"Make sure that he dies," both teenaged Magic Lords commanded in unison. "Find and kill the heroes, and we will ensure that there will be no challenge to your rule. Also, you must find the psychic Pokémon, Mewtwo. He is one of the few Chosen Heroes that can challenge us one-on-one."

"I shall," Elric assured them. "And when I do, what do you want me to do?"

"Tell us so that we can finish him ourselves. He may be able to defeat us one-on-one, but he can't defeat two or three of us at once. Either way, you'll stand no chance in defeating him yourself."

"Understood," Elric replied. "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"Yes, there is," Aglara answered. "We have identified another of the Chosen Heroes. Kill her for us."

"Her?" Elric asked, puzzled as to whom they were talking about. "Who?"

"Samus Aran," the female Magic Lord answered. They saw the expression of surprise and loathing on his face. Samus had done a great deal of damage to him politically that only the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters and the destruction of Daiban had been able to rectify, partially. "It will be most fortuitous for you to do so, for she is now in a position to destroy you to the point where even _we_ will have difficulty saving your political career, not to mention your life."

Elric began to be concerned at what they were telling him. "Why? What has she done?" Elric asked, almost begging them to tell him what they knew.

Aramon gave a grin and answered, "She has discovered your darkest secret regarding the Space Pirate attack on Daiban. Once she arrives at the Radio Tower in New York, she will then learn of the fact that you knew that the Space Pirates were going to attack Aurora Unit Zero and take it over, using it to destroy Daiban. If anything, the documents from Cyrus's computer at the tower will also make it look like _you_ were the one who leaked the data regarding the location of Aurora Unit Zero to the Space Pirates, not his people."

Elric's face was aghast. He knew that Cyrus was planning something; he just did not know what it was. Aramon then continued, "That will bring us to another mission. You must cut ties with and kill your Vice-Chairman, Cyrus, immediately."

This order surprised Elric. "May I ask why?" he replied. "He's the one who assassinated former Chairman Keaton for me. He has not made a single move against me during my reign as Chairman of the Galactic Federation."

"That you know of," Aglara interjected. "However, we see all that is out there. We know that he is planning to unleash a horror that will destroy this universe, and _you_ with it. You must stop him, no matter the cost."

"I will," Elric assured them in a dark tone.

"But ensure that the heroes are killed first. Cyrus is not close enough to the completion of his goals that taking him out cannot wait. But you must act quickly. Samus and other people of concern are going to rendezvous at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. before going to the Radio Tower. You must kill Samus and the others before they release the information on you. If you fail to do so, then even we might not be able to ensure your safety, for with our current numbers, any war we wage against the Galactic Federation will still be very costly, despite our power. And there is the very real possibility that we could lose in a direct conflict with the Federation. For your own sake, kill Samus and the others, first. Then, take down Cyrus and his people. After that, you will be well on your way to having complete control of this galaxy." The Magic Lords then muttered under their breaths, "What's left of it," which was followed by sinister grins.

With that, the two Magic Lords then vanished into thin air. Elric quickly then activated the ship's intercom and opened a channel to the captain of the ship. "Captain, accelerate to Earth, maximum warp speed now! I need to get there as quickly as possible!"

"Understood, sir," the Captain replied calmly.

Elric then opened a ship-wide channel. "All Watchmen, report to the Assembly Chamber in one hour. I have an important mission for each of you. Also, contact all Watchmen on Earth and tell them to split into two equal forces and converge on New York City's Radio Tower and the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Many of our enemies are going to assemble at those two locations. We have a chance to crush them all with one swift strike and end their resistance before it spreads to other worlds."

A chorus of affirmatives answered him. Once he was finished, he sat back in his chair and waited as he felt the ship accelerate to its maximum faster-than-light, or warp, speed. He then entered a series of commands in on his computer and opened an encrypted transmission to a secret ally. After a few seconds, he saw the background of the bridge of a Space Pirate Frigate. The face of Ridley soon appeared on the screen. Upon seeing Chairman Elric, Ridley gave a grin. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Chairman Elric. What are you doing calling me on the encrypted channel?"

"I need your help in dealing with a problem that has come up that could affect both of us."

"And what is it you want _me_ to do?"

"I want you to go to Earth and kill Samus Aran," Elric answered. He had anticipated Ridley being eager to get another chance at revenge on Samus. What he had not expected was Ridley to blurt, "Earth? Are you crazy? That planet's an impregnable fortress! We just got finished getting our asses handed to us by the Galactic Federation fleet and losing _Space Lab Moreau_. Only six ships managed to escape. There's no way I'm risking any of my remaining forces in a futile attack on Earth. That was one of the few planets that destroyed a Leviathan Seed with its escorting fleet without any problems!"

"You won't be going in alone," Elric explained as calmly as he could, given his current feelings of anger and not a small amount of fear. "I'll be taking along some starships of my own to soften up Earth's defenses. It should allow a transport to get through. And even if they should fail, I will have my men take control of Earth's Defense Grid so that it won't fire on your ship."

"Really," Ridley asked skeptically. "The last time someone tried to breach Earth's atmosphere, its guardian dragon vaporized them with a single energy blast."

"My forces can keep Rayquaza busy while you go out in search for Samus. I need her dead!" Elric blasted.

"And what are you willing to give me in exchange?" Ridley asked, visibly spreading his wings in a gesture that demonstrated his strength and power. He knew that Elric was desperate for his services and that he could not refuse. He was in the pilot's seat in this negotiation.

"One million Gold Credits now, plus eleven million and a fully functional, just off the assembly line destroyer-class warship upon the successful completion of the mission."

Ridley's scoffed. "Not good enough."

"What?" Elric blurted. "That's more than anything you could wish for after your last debacle at _Space Lab Moreau_."

"Make it a cruiser and I may be willing to entertain your offer," Ridley countered.

"A cruiser?" Elric gasped. Cruisers were mainstays in the Federation fleet. A frigate could be reported as missing since they were trying out several new designs. He could just have one of the newer frigate designs be declared unfit for duty and give it to Ridley and the Space Pirates, but it was a different story for a cruiser. The newer cruisers had already been tested and were already being fielded. The loss of a cruiser would not only look terrible, but also bring attention to its loss. Eventually, he looked back at Ridley on the screen and said, "Twelve million credits now, plus a frigate once the job is done. That's the best I can do."

"Then you can't do good enough," Ridley answered before shutting down the link.

"Damn it Ridley, get back here?" Elric roared, but it was to no avail. Ridley cut the transmission and Elric was left to seethe at Ridley's balking of his offer. He was angry because he knew that the dragon knew that he had no intention of holding up his end of the deal. He would have quickly betrayed Ridley and the Space Pirates as soon as it was expedient to do so, and he would then have given himself the credit for finally eliminating them once and for all once their destruction was complete. However, with Ridley's refusal to assist him, the plan was not to be.

Elric then leaned forward once more and input a series of commands on his armchair pad, opening a private channel to his supporters inside of _Federation One_. "This is Chairman Elric to all Galactic Federation Council Members that I appointed to the Council upon the destruction of Daiban and after the loss of a third of the Council. Your presence is needed inside the Main Assembly Chamber immediately. Do not let anyone else know where you are going, not even your aides."

Another chorus of affirmatives came in over the radio. Once that was finished, he sat back for a moment and relaxed. Elric could not help but shudder in anticipation. Soon, some of his most important enemies would be dealt with. After Colin Williams and the others were dead, then he could take his time hunting down the rest of the Chosen Heroes, assuming they ever appeared at all. If Ash were truly Pokémon League Champion material, then he would be found soon enough once he won a league. And if he were not, then he would be of no significant threat to the Magic Lords, and his power. And killing Cyrus would be easy. He then rose and went over to a closet in one of the corners and opened it. Inside was a suit of armor similar in design to the armored suit that the rogue bounty hunter, Sylux, had worn before his death at the hands of Samus Aran. He stared at it and smiled. With that suit, he would have the power to kill Samus Aran. And if she were truly a threat to the Magic Lords, perhaps he also had the means to get out from underneath their thumb and truly rule without any opposition to speak of. He grinned as he closed the closet and went over to the door and proceeded on his way to the Main Assembly Chamber. In a few hours, all of his problems would be solved.

Back on Earth, Cyrus stood inside his lab, Charon and several Team Galactic Grunts standing at his side. In a transparent container was a red ring that resembled a chain of energy. He looked over at Charon and asked, "Are you sure that this will allow me to control Dark Arceus and command him to create a new universe?"

"It should be," Charon answered a little waveringly. "It has never been tested on a Pokémon that has been said wherever it has appeared to be a god."

"But Dark Arceus is not the original Arceus," Cyrus countered.

"I know," Charon admitted. "Dark Arceus is a complete unknown right now, save for your knowledge of his existence. Had you not learned of him while trapped in the Distortion World, we would have no knowledge of there being a second Arceus to begin with. And there's still the possibility of this Dark Arceus not really being an Arceus to begin with." He then paused as he looked back at the chain. "To be honest, I don't know what good I or anyone else would be in predicting whether or not this chain will work. We don't even know if Dark Arceus is good or evil."

"He's the opposite of Arceus, which means that he's likely evil," Cyrus said. "From what little we know of the original Arceus, while he does have a temper, he won't strike at humanity unless truly angry."

"Then let us hope that this chain works," Charon mused. "For if it doesn't, who knows what might happen."

As Cyrus was about to go and get the container holding the new Red Chain, his secretary, a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes came in, out of breath. "Sir," she called over to him, "Chairman Elric says that he is coming back to Earth as quickly as possible and is demanding to see you soon. Some of our agents, however, have said that he is bringing a large number of Watchmen as well."

Cyrus's surprise showed on his face. "Any idea of the current loadout of the Watchmen? Are they expecting a fight?"

The woman nodded. "They were said to be armed heavily. My contact said that they likely intended to kill you."

This revelation did not seem to concern Cyrus, and his face remained plain. "So he likely suspects my plans," he muttered. He then turned to the secretary and asked, "Was there any information on anyone else coming? A bounty hunter, assassin, or any other soldiers?"

The secretary shook her head. "No sir, at least not for you, that I know of. He does, however, have other forces assisting him in intercepting and killing Samus Aran."

"Who?"

"Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz," the secretary replied. "He is bringing in designs from the Star Fox Team's Landmaster tanks to the Watchmen down on Earth. He is also going to be coming as well, though the Chairman of Defense will be dealing with the resistance on Earth, as well as a potential encounter with Samus as well.

"Damn it," Cyrus cursed. "With firepower like that, we're going to be hard-pressed to stop him should he come for us after dealing with the others."

"We have some powerful weapons of our own," the secretary countered, trying to put Cyrus's mind at ease. "Besides, if you manage to summon Dark Arceus before they arrive, it won't matter what they bring to bear against us, all will fall."

Cyrus smirked. She was right about that, though. If he managed to summon Dark Arceus before Samus and/or Elric found out what he was planning and moved to stop him, it would not matter what they had, Dark Arceus would crush them. He did not have to worry too much. He still had a little time to accomplish his goals. He then went to work making the final calculations and plans for unleashing Dark Arceus upon the universe, and gaining his own universe in the process.

Back onboard _Federation One_, Elric stood in the assembly area with three hundred representatives of the Galactic Federation Council, nearly one third of the entire Council. Elric made certain that the entrances to the chamber were closed and locked and once he had, he placed a square device similar to a hand radio on the podium. The device soon emitted a high-pitched screech that lasted for a couple of seconds.

"My apologies, friends," Elric apologized. "I had to be certain that we were not being recorded by any of my, or your, enemies."

"Why have you called us together?" one of the Council Members, a tall, blue-skinned man with sharp features and black hair asked.

"And why have you locked the doors?" asked a second member; this one appeared to be a male humanoid reptile.

"We have a problem," Elric began gravely. "Right now, there is a rebellion that is beginning to form on Earth."

"Hasn't that been forming since three months ago?" asked a third member, this one a woman with bird-like features.

Elric nodded. "Yes, it has, Ma'Vo. However, things are getting worse. Now, Earth is about to receive data that will put us at an extreme disadvantage. In her quest to destroy the Space Pirates, bounty hunter Samus Aran has uncovered many of our secret projects and is going to Earth to give them information on these projects."

"What 'projects' might they be?" asked a rugged looking Simian. "I have yet to fund any illegal projects. We all have been careful about that since that fiasco almost a year ago with what happened onboard the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven_."

Elric scowled at the Councilman. He knew that some of his personal appointees had been suspicious of his activities, and would use their information on him against him in the future. Fortunately, he had something on them that none of them could get around. Elric's scowl then turned into a sly grin. "Each of you got your seats through technically illegal means," Elric answered the Simian.

This caused a murmur to rise within the three hundred Council Members had been assembled. "I circumvented the Galactic Federation Constitution after Daiban's destruction and the deaths of the Council Members whose seats you currently occupy," he explained. "Now yes, you all, as well as many others, _did_ grant me Emergency Powers, under the Emergency Powers Act. However, before that measure could pass, I chose you all for the Council since votes had to be cast on bills and other matters that could not wait, and could not be voted on without a full Federation Council. And yes, I did so because I knew that you were my political allies. However, as you almost certainly know, that did not go over very well with Colin Williams of Earth, Madeline Powell of Mars, and several others, including the representatives of Aliehs III, one of the Federation's primary shipyards, and Corella 5, one of our primary food production worlds, along with Earth. Earth, Aliehs III, Corella 5, and a few other important worlds have since formed a coalition of their own inside the Galactic Federation. With the information that Samus will give them, they will then move, and they will likely get the support of the Galactic Federation Military."

"That still does not answer why we have been called here," a Council Member in one of the back rows called out to Elric. "You have your own personal Police and military force in the form of the Watchmen. Why do you need us?"

"Because I need ships," Elric replied. "Earth is the most heavily defended planet in the Federation. I'm going to need more than a dozen or so ships if I wish to show my strength to Earth should they allow Samus Aran passage. My Watchmen on the planet are already going to take action, but all contingencies must be taken into account. Remember, if I fall, your political careers are likely to fail as well."

Elric let that sink in as the members looked over at each other. They knew that he was right. While much of the Federation had supported Elric's policies, many of those worlds had not been nearly as prosperous as Earth or the other worlds. Not only that, but many of the people on those worlds had not taken a significant interest in the politics of their representatives. While they did not know what information Samus was going to let loose upon the Federation, they knew that they had supported Elric in everything that he had done, so far. If something happened and irrefutable proof was let loose that Elric was a criminal, then their own careers would almost certainly suffer for it because of their association to Elric. Had they known the truth about him, though, half of them would have instantly turned on him immediately. Eventually, a cat-like humanoid female asked, "What do you and the Watchmen need, Elric?"

Elric answered, "I request that your people give me at least one cruiser-class capital starship for my mission to Earth. If a rebellion is on the verge of beginning, it will start there. Also, if you can spare a communications ship or two, please send some. Should Samus manage to land, we'll have to jam all transmissions leaving Earth. It is my hope that I am merely being overcautious in my need for such a large fleet. But if the Watchmen aren't able to secure Earth's defense grid, or Earth calls back all of its ships, then we will be in trouble, especially since I am not certain that I can rely on the Galactic Federation fleet. Admiral Castor Dane has already stated publicly that if the situation on Earth comes to blows, that he will support the people of Earth and any who stand with them. I have a feeling that a lot of the other admirals will side with Dane on the issue as well."

"How long do we have?" the cat-like alien woman asked.

"I would say about an hour or two, tops," Elric replied.

The others gasped. There was a stunned and uneasy silence for a few minutes. Eventually, the cat-woman responded, "That will take some doing. We cannot guarantee that you will get everything that you want."

"Just do your best," Elric told her. "That's all I can ask."

"You can count on us, sir," the Council Members inside the chamber proclaimed as they saluted Elric.

Elric then saluted them back and then called, "Dismissed!"

With that, Elric unlocked the doors and the Council Members filed out of the Main Assembly Hall through the secret passages used when secret meetings were held in the chamber. As they left, he gave a soft chuckle. Indeed, this had been spur of the moment. He would be surprised if even a dozen starships showed up in time to try to stop Samus. Still, a dozen would be better than none. And if by some miracle most of the ships arrived, so much the better. He had ordered his Watchmen to converge on Earth, so chances were that they would likely be crewmembers of at least some of the ships that came to Earth. He then left the Council Assembly Hall to go back into his office. He had a few more calls to make to his subordinates, as well as the mission that he had to give to his Watchmen in the Assembly Chamber.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Back on Earth, Kreatz and Mauk were flying towards the Unova Region in America in order to search for and apprehend another of their persons of interest that Chairman Elric had directed them to capture. The two Watchmen officers looked back at the energy cage behind them, which contained the prisoners they had recently captured. The chained Donkey Kong was already straining to free himself from the chains, even though he knew that there was no way he would break through the energy bars. They both sighed at the sight of the prisoners as they looked back at them, glaring. They knew what was going through the prisoners' minds. The prisoners knew that they were innocent of any crime, and that their captors knew of their innocence. This was merely a crackdown of opposing thought. Members of the Pokémon League had sided with President Richardson and Councilman Williams and spoken out against Elric's actions. The thing that concerned the others, though, was exactly why an intelligent ape like Donkey Kong had been captured. That also concerned Kreatz and Mauk as well.

The two turned their attention back to their flight and let the other Watchmen soldiers onboard worry about the prisoners. They doubted that the prisoners would be able to escape. After a few moments, the image of Chairman Elric appeared on their screens once more. "Commanders Kreatz and Mauk," he boomed.

"Yes, Chairman, sir," the two answered, bolting to attention upon seeing the Chairman.

"What is your current situation?"

"We are currently going to America so we can apprehend Councilman Colin Williams," Kreatz answered. "We are currently crossing Earth's Pacific Ocean."

"Belay that order," Elric bellowed. "I have a new assignment for you."

"What is it, sir?" Kreatz asked.

"You are to execute the prisoners you have in your possession immediately and dump their bodies into the ocean, where the likelihood of them being found is highly improbable," the Chairman commanded.

This brought expressions of shock to the faces of Kreatz and Mauk. "Executed now?" Mauk asked, aghast at what he was being commanded to do. Some of the prisoners were children.

"Yes," Elric roared. "Kill them! Now! Once that is finished, go to the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. in America and have you and your soldiers assist my Watchmen in taking over the building. Forget about capturing Colin Williams. If you have a shot, kill him! From there, you are to program Earth's Defense Grid to fire on any and all Striker-class Assault Gunships. You will also program it to fire on any and all vessels that try to offer any support to any such gunships. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Kreatz and Mauk answered in unison. Mauk then pointed out, "Sir, you do know that Samus Aran flies a Striker-class Assault Gunship, right?"

"Yeah, so?" came Elric's response.

"So, what if Samus comes to Earth for whatever reason?"

"She won't!" Elric bellowed. "Now, carry out my orders, all of them!"

The two officers could not help but note that Elric was sounding desperate in his explanation to them. "And what if the defenses around the Capitol Building don't recognize our authority and prevent us from entering?"

"Then use whatever force you deem necessary to get in and take control of the Defense Grid!" Erlic boomed again. "Even if it means you have to kill people! You already killed one prisoner! And she was a kid! You're gonna kill some more. What's your damn problem? I chose the two of you because of your skills. You have your orders, execute them!" The screen then went blank.

Kreatz and Mauk then slumped back into their chairs. "What are you going to do now?" they heard Cynthia ask from inside the cage. "You won't be able to waffle any longer. Now's the time you must choose."

The two Watchmen looked back at her. They then scanned all of the prisoners, Cynthia, the intelligent and powerful ape Donkey Kong, who was still being held by energy chains fastened to his wrists and legs, Captain Falcon the F-Zero racer and part-time bounty hunter wearing a blue suit with a red helmet with the symbol of a falcon, and an opaque visor; Dawn, Brock, and the others who were merely relatives of those who had spoken out too boldly against Elric's policies. They knew that Cynthia was right. They both remembered the captures of most of the prisoners. Cynthia, Donkey Kong, and Captain Falcon had put up the greatest amount of resistance, even killing some Watchmen in their attempts to flee. In Cynthia's case, she had stayed behind in order to cover the escape of other targets of interest. The two panned their eyes over the younger captives, Brock, Dawn, Ethan, and Lyra.

"Children," Kreatz muttered. "He wants us to kill children."

"Not kill…murder," Mauk corrected venomously.

They then glanced over at the other Watchmen officers. They appeared to have no issues with Elric's orders. Some of them were even joking with each other, saying, "Man, it's about time. I thought we'd never get to finish it."

Two officers, one in gold armor, another in silver, had taken control of the shuttle and slowed down the shuttle until it was merely hovering several hundred meters in the air. "We've come to a stop," the new pilot said matter-of-factly as he rose from his station. "Time to get to work. There's little enough time for it."

The pilot and his copilot then drew their energy pistols and approached the energy cage. Four other officers soon followed suit, drawing their assault rifles. Kreatz and Mauk followed the others, but stayed behind them. They watched as the others waved their guns at the prisoners. The officers had not even bothered to put on their helmets. Each of them leered sadistically at the prisoners, especially the children. _Man, it seems as if only wackos are part of this squadron_, Kreatz thought darkly. One look into Mauk's eyes showed that he shared his friend's sentiment. The two noticed that the younger prisoners were particularly afraid of the fate that they were about to suffer. In the end, it was Mauk who broke the silence first. "Wait!" he called, holding up his hand.

The other officers turned back and glared at him. "Why? We were given a direct order to kill them!" one of the Watchmen, a Cat-Man barked at the Simian.

"But some of these prisoners are only children," Kreatz contested, going to Mauk's defense.

"So what?" the Cat-Man Watchman retorted. "These orders came from Lord Elric, himself."

"I thought he was still merely the Chairman of the Galactic Federation Council," Captain Falcon corrected.

"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that Elric has limits on his power," the Cat-Man corrected in return. "Elric may still call himself the Chairman of the Galactic Federation Council, but in reality, he's the new King, or Emperor of the new Galactic Empire."

"Stop!" another Watchman, a humanoid frog-like alien, called out in warning. "That woman is recording your speech," he cried, pointing to Cynthia.

The Cat-Man looked over and saw the small device in Cynthia's hand. The woman glared at him and grinned. "Your secret's going to get out. And then, you'll be seen as the monsters and criminals that you are. Enjoy your fun while you can."

The Cat-Man and the frog-like Watchman then grinned. "Too bad our little secret will never get out," the Cat-Man said as he pointed his assault rifle at the cage. He turned to one of the officers standing near the terminal that controlled the cage. He did not notice that Cynthia was subtly placing her hands behind her back, as if she were trying to jostle something loose. She subtly glanced over at Kreatz and Mauk, half pleading, half alerting them to get ready for something. They both nodded, indicating that they saw her and understood what she was communicating to them.

The Cat-Man approached the cage, gun in hand, and told the guard at the power terminal, "Okay, cut power to the cage. Time to get these executions over with."

The bars of purple energy that represented the force field that separated the prisoners from their captors disappeared and the field of energy that contained the prisoners vanished. The Cat-Man and the other four Watchmen that came over gave sadistic grins as they leveled their weapons at the prisoners. The terror in the children's eyes was evident, though Cynthia, Captain Falcon, and Donkey Kong were far more stoic about the ordeal. Kreatz and Mauk, knowing that they had to do something, yelled, "Wait!"

The Cat-Man grunted in frustration and turned to face Kreatz, and his friend, Mauk. The other Watchmen also turned to face them. "What is it now, Commanders?" the Cat-Man roared.

"At least spare the children. They've done nothing wrong."

"They're relatives of known enemies of Elric. That _makes_ them enemies. Now stop bitching about how you can't bring yourself to kill a few kids and let the professionals show you how it's done."

The Cat-Man then turned back to the prisoners, a grin plastered on his face as he leveled his gun at the prisoners once more. He waved his gun around for a few seconds until the youngest of the prisoners, an eight year-old girl with black hair and gray eyes, caught his attention. He grinned. "Well, may as well get the youngins out of the way first," he chortled.

He was surprised that the girl was no longer cowering in terror and merely backing away cautiously. He arced his head to the side, but never saw the attack that took his life coming. Kreatz drew two batons from his trench coat and pushed their activation buttons. Two orange energy whips emerged from the batons. But Kreatz did not use them to begin the executions of the prisoners. Instead, he flicked his wrist and sliced the Cat-Man's head in half with one of his whips. The other was used to take down the frog-like Watchman. The other Watchmen quickly turned to see Kreatz take down two of their comrades. They quickly turned their attention away from the prisoners and pointed their weapons towards Kreatz, but Mauk was there to cover him. He unleashed a volley of plasma fire from his plasma cannons that took down two more Watchmen. However, it was not going to be enough, for soon, the rest of the Watchmen onboard the shuttle entered the battle and began firing on both Kreatz and Mauk. Several blasts struck them but both Kreatz and Mauk were wearing shield generators on their arms so the energy blasts only managed to bounce off of the shields.

Unbeknownst to the Watchmen, Cynthia had not been captured without all of her Pokémon. A single Poké Ball fell to the ground from her belt on her back and opened, revealing a Pokémon identified as a Garchomp, a Pokémon that looked like a cross between a humanoid and an Earth shark. It had a Hammerhead Shark-like head and dark blue skin. It also had a red underbelly which covered the middle of its abdomen. Beneath the red underbelly was a gold diamond patch of skin. Another gold pattern appeared on the creature's head. Its appendages also resembled jets, planes, and sharks. It also had spikes on its hind limbs and arms. Cynthia then told the other prisoners, "Stay behind me!"

Without Cynthia even issuing a command, her Garchomp opened its mouth and an orange ball of energy formed inside of it. The Garchomp then launched the ball of energy at a dozen Watchmen, who were coming to reinforce their allies, who were being faced down by Kreatz and Mauk. The ball of energy left the Pokémon's mouth and streaked towards the Watchmen. It quickly split into multiple smaller balls of energy that were still more than sufficient to annihilate the Watchmen that were reinforcing their comrades. The balls struck the approaching Watchmen and blew them apart, those that were not completely vaporized by the attack. Of the dozen Watchmen that were going to reinforce the first group, only four remained alive.

Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong were not about to let Kreatz, Mauk, Cynthia, and Garchomp have all the fun, though. They both quickly charged out and charged straight into the four remaining Watchmen, one a Star Elf, two Simians, and even a human. The human and Star Elf scattered upon Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon's charge. The other two, however, leveled their rifles at the charging fighters and prepared to open fire. Falcon pulled back his right arm and curled his hands into a fist. As he did so, flames began to appear around his fist. Moving at nearly super-human speed, he charged one of the Simians and yelled, "Falcon Punch!" He immediately thrust his fist forward and a falcon-shaped flame erupted from his fist as he thrust it forward. The flaming punch caught the golden armored Watchman in the chest and proceeded to destroy him, reducing the Watchman's now shattered body to ashes.

Donkey Kong, meanwhile, was engaging his own Watchman guard. He rushed his Watchman and before the Watchman could level his rifle at him, he grabbed the gun and jerked it out of the Watchman's hand. He then tossed the gun away, and fortunately towards Cynthia. He then began to swing his right arm around, charging a punch as he held the unfortunate Watchman in his left hand. As soon as it was at full charge, Donkey Kong unleashed the punch upon the Watchman. DK's fist struck the armor, which offered no protection against a punch of such power, and he let the Watchman go, allowing the punch to send him flying. The Watchman took off and immediately flew into the access hatch of the shuttle, flying through it, causing the air to rush out for a few moments, before an emergency force field was set in place. The Watchman, however, did not experience his long fall into the Pacific Ocean, for he was instantly killed by the initial strike of Kong's punch.

As for Cynthia, when Donkey Kong absently tossed his Watchman's assault rife in her direction, she quickly leaned down and grabbed the weapon. She then took aim at the two remaining unengaged Watchman and promptly mowed them down as if she had been trained for years in the use of the weapon. The bullets that were unleashed from the gun tore into the two remaining Watchmen, their silver armor offering next to no protection against the magnetically accelerated slugs. After a few seconds, the shuttle was cleared of Watchmen, save for Kreatz and Mauk. After the fighting was over, both Watchmen took off their Watchman insignias and placed Galactic Federation insignias back on their chests.

They then looked over the prisoners in order to make sure that no one had been hurt during the fighting. They knew that Cynthia, her Garchomp, Captain Falcon, and Donkey Kong were fine; their concern was for the children and other Pokémon Trainers that had been captured. "Everybody okay?" Mauk asked.

The others then took stock of themselves and nodded in unison. They each then heard Captain Falcon's voice call from behind, asking them, "What took you guys so long, anyway? I knew from the moment you came that you weren't like the others."

"We needed to have more evidence of what was going on," Mauk answered. His answer surprised Kreatz.

"What?" Kreatz asked in shock. "You mean you were never loyal to the Watchmen at all?"

"Never," Kreatz's friend responded. "I merely needed to gather the necessary evidence to show the excesses of the Watchmen, and of Elric. I got more than I could ever have hoped for." He then took his friend aside and told him, "I'm glad you turned out to be on my side as well. Going against you would have been the hardest thing I ever would have had to do."

"One question," Kreatz said, not indicating whether he was angry or happy at the recent turn of events. "Were all of the captures planned or was this all spur of the moment?"

"The captures were not planned," Mauk answered. "But I was less than thorough in ensuring that they did not have weapons, as I can see you were, too. Nice job on not examining Cynthia more thoroughly."

Kreatz gave a bashful smile. Something about Cynthia reminded him of another friend of his, Samus Aran. They then heard Cynthia call over from the pilot's station, saying, "I hate to break up your conversation, but we're still stuck in hover mode and I have no idea how to fly this shuttle."

The two Federation Police Officers then rushed over to the pilot and copilot's seats and relieved Cynthia. Taking the seats, they then deactivated the shuttle's hover mode and turned the shuttle back towards Japan. "We'll be taking you all back to Japan so you can disembark. From there, though, we're going to America. We received orders from Chairman Elric that we were to support an attack on a building called the Capitol Building."

Cynthia and the other humans gasped. "That's where the controls for Earth's planetary Defense Grid can be overridden," Cynthia told them. "They could target any approaching ship they desire."

"We know," Kreatz told them in a downcast tone. "Elric explained it to us over the radio. But still, we know we have to keep the Watchmen from being able to take control of Earth's Defense Grid, but we don't want to take you and the others into a war zone, for that's our next destination."

"I understand," Cynthia replied. "But hurry. While Earth's soldiers are stationed at the Capitol Building, I doubt that Elric would order only a small force to storm the building and take control of it. Once they start fighting, then it's going to be civil war."

"We know," Mauk said glumly. With that, the two piloted the shuttle back to Japan, where they would deposit the newly freed captives.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, California, the Watchmen sat in their headquarters, awaiting instructions from Elric. The headquarters was a nondescript building that was located in one of the slums of L.A., one of the few slums that still existed on Earth. It had been here that the Watchmen had recruited most of the human members of the force. Now, they were awaiting contact by Elric with instructions. He had told them that they had a mission to perform and that it had to be done in the utmost of secrecy. While they had not been told much more, each and every member of the Watchmen knew that the mission was going to be extremely important. They had already heard about civilians fighting Watchmen in Japan, England, Russia, and now in America. They wanted this unrest to be settled quickly, before further force was necessary. They also felt, though, that should a conflict come with the rest of the people of Earth and the planet secede from the Federation and/or declare open war against Elric and his forces, that they would lose the ensuing fight.

The Watchmen inside the hideout patiently waited for the screen to light up and for their next set of orders to arrive. Their patience was soon rewarded as Elric's face soon appeared on the screen and he told them, "I am sending you an encrypted file whose code changes every five seconds, have your computers keep up."

"Yes, sir," a Caucasian male answered for the rest of the Watchmen present. There was a smaller screen below the main viewer on the console. The files soon appeared on the screen. "We've got it," the Watchman told Elric.

"Good, Colonel Tashin. This is data on your next mission. You are to support an attack on the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. You must go quickly and study the data on the way. Time is of the essence on this mission. You will be assisting half of the Watchmen on Earth, and other allied forces as well. The other Watchmen are preparing for another operation that will be taking place shortly after you are successful. Once you have control of Earth's Defense Grid, you are to join the rest of the Watchmen at the coordinates that I gave you in the file. After that, you are to join the others at the Radio Tower in New York City. Hopefully, you won't be necessary in a combat role. However, should you be needed, know that you will be fighting to kill Samus Aran. She has information that is harmful to the Galactic Federation and she will be spreading it should she succeed in landing at the Radio Tower. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Colonel Tashin responded.

The screen then went blank. Tashin then turned to the others and told them, "Alright men, we've got the signal. Gather your weapons and armor, we're heading out now!"

The Watchmen then made their way to the armory and put on their armor, either gold or silver in color, and armed themselves with assault rifles with underslung grenade launchers. Once they had equipped themselves, they proceeded to a small underground hangar. Inside the hangar was a large shuttle, with its wings folded up in order to fit in the hangar, capable of holding the more than one hundred Watchmen. The Watchmen quickly boarded the shuttle and after a few minutes, once they were all onboard, the shuttle's hatch closed. The hangar doors quickly retracted, revealing the city before them and the shuttle lifted off, hovering a few feet off of the ground. The ship then turned towards the exit of the hangar and rocketed forward. After it cleared the hangar bay, its wings folded down into flight position and it rocketed forward, away from the hangar and towards Washington D.C. What the Watchmen did not know, however, was that they were being watched by spies for Earth's government, as well as the Federation. One of the spies watched the shuttle leave the bay and then touched a small button on his wristwatch. He then spoke into the watch, saying, "This is Echo Two-One-Four, reporting in. We've got a Watchman shuttle headed towards Washington D.C. It seems to be large enough to hold more than a hundred Watchmen. It looks like they know of what's coming guys."

"We copy Echo Two-One-Four. You did well today. Now get out of there," the voice of a general from the Capitol Building answered.

"Roger that," the spy replied. With that, the spy proceeded to leave his hide and proceeded back to his base.

Back in the Capitol Building, President Richardson and Councilman Colin Williams were discussing their plans for transmitting the data Samus was going to bring them when a four star Earth general came into their meeting. "Sir, we have a report," he called as he ran over to them. "Elric knows of Samus's transmission and that she has vital data and they are taking action to stop her. To that end, Elric is calling all of his Watchmen on Earth and telling them to attack, both here and at the Radio Tower. One of our spies has currently sighted a shuttle leaving a known Watchmen hideout in Los Angeles and is making its way over here. ETA, about one hour."

"What is Samus's ETA?" Councilman Williams asked the officer manning a communications terminal in the office.

"About one and a half hours, sir," the officer answered.

"Crud," Colin Williams lamented. "They'll arrive here before Samus." He then turned back to the officer and asked, "Any sign of _Federation One_ yet?"

The officer checked his instruments. "No sir," came the reply.

_Good_, Williams thought. That meant that he would not have to deal with a possible orbital strike. While he knew that the Watchmen were coming to take control of the Planetary Defense Grid, he had a bad feeling that even if his Watchmen failed, that Elric had a backup plan.

"You should get ready," President Richardson said, going over to Williams, handing him the stick. "The Watchmen will arrive before Samus does, so we'll likely be getting into a fight. If you want to leave, now's the time to do so, sir."

"No," Williams answered, shaking his head. "Earth's my home and I will defend it with my life if necessary. I'm staying."

"Well, be careful. The Federation can't afford to lose you. Or anyone else who sided with us, for that matter."

"We will," Williams assured his friend.

Not long after, Madeline Powell came over, dressed in a Kevlar C shirt, jacket, and pants. She was also carrying an energy pistol. She told him, "Colin, I highly recommend wearing some armor and arming yourself. We could be getting ourselves into a firefight, here."

"I am," Colin Williams responded, revealing a Kevlar C vest and shirt along with an energy pistol underneath his jacket. With that, the two proceeded to make the necessary calls to secure the use of Platoon 07 and their equipment before making the relatively short trek to the Radio Tower in New York City.

President Richardson waited in his office in the Capitol Building for about one hour, preparing himself for the eventual arrival of the Watchmen. He knew that many Watchmen viewed themselves as being loyal to the Federation, but he also had a sneaky suspicion that many were also in on some of Elric's darker secrets. The fact that the Watchmen in Los Angeles had no problems with Elric using Space Pirates in addition to his own personal forces only made it worse in his eyes. Even if Elric could be stopped and the truth did get out, he knew that the Federation could be in for a long and bloody civil war. Elric had gained a lot of allies in the last six months by allocating vast amounts of wealth from some of the more affluent worlds, such as Earth, Aliehs III, Corella 5, and others, to poorer worlds that, while still rich in resources, did not have as much in terms of industry that could allow them to exploit their bounty. Many poorer worlds had jumped to Elric's defense during the preliminary hearings to Elric's trial on the illegal development of bioweapons banned by the Galactic Federation as well as the accusations of him having assassinated former Chairman Keaton. He then sat back in his chair, waiting for the fighting to begin, for he knew that the chances of avoiding the upcoming fight were slim. He checked the energy levels of the energy pistol he kept in a drawer of his desk and proceeded to take his final precaution against the enemy managing to breach the Capitol Building. He typed in a series of commands into the Defense Grid computer and proceeded to wait for the battle to begin.

Outside the Capitol Building, Earth and Galactic Federation Marines lined the walkways that led to the Capitol Building. Each Marine, Earth and Federation, wore identical types of power armor, the only thing differentiating the Earth and Federation Marines being the insignias that they wore over their chests. Anti-aircraft defense turrets and missile launchers were already deployed and charged, ready to fire on any approaching hostiles. Each of the soldiers present hoped that the upcoming fight would not happen, but each soldier also knew that chances were that hostilities would not be avoided. They would not have been called to the Capitol Building if there was even the slightest hope that hostilities could be avoided. They knew that they would be firing on Federation citizens, and that not all of those citizens were evil. In fact, many of the soldiers the suspected that many of them were _not_, in fact, evil, and were just following their orders, not knowing whom it really was that they were serving. Other soldiers, however, felt that since the Watchmen were Elric's personal army, Police force, and spy service, that many of the soldiers, or at least the officers that commanded them, had to know what was going on, or had some idea of what Elric was planning and of his true nature.

Atmospheric fighters flew over the Capitol Building and flew holding patterns over the city of Washington D.C. These fighters resembled old Earth F-22 Raptor fighters and were painted either a dark gray or black that absorbed or deflected most radar and other types of sensors currently in use by Federation forces. The fighters were generally equipped with a mix of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, just in case they had to face off against not only a ground assault, but an air attack as well. There was also a squadron of attack starfighters that greatly resembled old Earth A-10 Thunderbolts, or Warthogs, as they were better known as. In fact, these fighters were officially known as SFA-10 Warthogs, after the old A-10s, and they fulfilled a similar role when used in atmospheric attack. The only difference was the fact that they were equipped with a pair of dorsal point-defense cannons designed to shoot down any missiles or unsuspecting and/or lightly shielded pursuing fighters. Tanks were also present surrounding the Capitol building, but they were there mainly for support in the event of a strong ground assault, something that both President Richardson and the primary general present, General Hastings, had doubted the Watchmen would try, but they wanted to cover any and all contingencies.

The rest of the area was now devoid of non-military personnel. In addition, President Richardson had ordered the evacuation of all areas surrounding the Capitol Building of all non-essential personnel. He wanted to get the civilians as far away from the fighting as possible, not only because they would have been in danger of being caught in the crossfire, but also because of the potential of them being used as hostages or shields by the Watchmen during the fighting should the Watchmen start to lose the battle.

As the hour passed, the sensor officers both inside the Capitol Building and inside various command and control vehicles scouted the area for any signs of an approaching Watchman force. The skies of Washington had been cleared of any and all aircraft save for Earth and Federation military air and spacecraft that had declared themselves to be loyal to Earth. In addition to the two squadrons of atmospheric fighters that patrolled the skies, a squadron of the new Katana-class starfighters also assisted in patrol. The Katana-class starfighters were warp capable starfighters that looked very much reminiscent of Earth atmospheric fighters of the early twenty-first century. Unlike most starfighters, they were very capable fighters both in and out of atmosphere. They sported heavy pulse laser cannons and heavy shields that could take all but the heaviest anti-starfighter weapons. Only the Arwings of the Star Fox Team and Wolfens of the Star Wolf Team possessed stronger shields, and the laser cannons of the Katanas were superior in power, range, and accuracy to their Lylatian counterparts. They also had the ability to wield a wide variety of missile weapons from anti-starfighter missiles, to mini-squadron destroyer missiles, to heavier anti-starship missiles and even Nova Bombs, which were heavy weapons designed to inflict heavy damage to even the strongest of capital starships. In addition, their sensors were far more acute, being designed for use in space combat rather than the limits of atmospheric combat. However, outside of Washington D.C., the skies were filled with air and spacecraft, as was now normal on Earth, the unofficial capital of the Galactic Federation. So far, there had not been any anomalous readings to report.

Things changed, however, when one of the Katanas detected a large detachment of shuttles and older Stiletto-class starfighters fast approaching Washington D.C. The leader of the squadron of Katanas, Red Leader, checked his sensors and found the large squadrons of shuttles and starfighters, and bombers, approaching. He glanced at the readings and found that the fighters were fully equipped with extra fuel, missiles, and bombs, and that their energy cannons were hot and ready to fire. Red Leader opened a channel to the rest of the defending forces, saying, "Get ready everyone, I've detected a large contingent of shuttles, assault shuttles, and fighters approaching. I think the Watchmen have come."

His scans were soon confirmed by the rest of his squadron, "I'm reading them, too. A few of those shuttles have got tanks. Some of those tanks appear to be of the mass-production Landmaster-class."

Red Leader shuddered a bit. The Landmaster was a tank originally designed and built in the Lylat System before the start of the Lylat Wars. They had proven their worth in the wars, but that was not what really concerned him. His primary concern was the fact that a few Landmasters had been bought by the Star Fox Team and custom made for them. These Landmasters had greatly improved firepower, mobility, and shielding. One variant had had its treads replaced by four all-terrain wheels which, while decreasing its traction, increased its mobility. This variant also had been redesigned to be an anti-aircraft tank, oddly enough, firing stronger energy pulses, but at a slower rate than the previous versions of the tank. It also could not charge its laser, or use Smart Bombs. A part of Red Leader really hoped that if one of the improved Landmasters was being used for this assault, that it was the anti-aircraft variant, for in reality, that newest Landmaster design was inferior, in his mind, to the previous designs, especially for combat against fast, agile air and spacecraft.

It was not long before a transmission came in to the defending force. A haughty male voice came in over the radio, declaring, "We are the Watchmen. Under the authority of Elric, Supreme Chairman of the Galactic Federation, we command you to turn over the Capitol Building and the controls to the Defense Grid of Earth to him and his right hand, immediately. We are authorized to use deadly force against you if you do not comply with our command."

From inside the Capitol Building, President Richardson watched the display as the dozen heavy assault shuttles, fourteen drop shuttles, twenty troop transports, and an entire wing of atmospheric and Stiletto-class fighters, each, approached Washington. Richardson could see that the Watchmen either had a larger presence on Earth than even _he_ had imagined, or that they had called in some help from the Galactic Federation Army. He took a look at the defenses that he had stationed around the Capitol Building. He knew that Washington had not been completely evacuated and that the city would soon become a battleground if he did not do something soon. Knowing that it was likely futile, he still opened a channel and hoped to resolve the issue diplomatically, rather than with force.

"This is President Jonathan Richardson of Earth. I am giving you once chance to pull back and avoid an unfortunate circumstance. Leave Washington now and we will take no offensive action against you. If you attempt to breach our defenses or attack, we will view that as an attack against Earth, itself, and we will defend ourselves with maximum force."

"No you won't, President," came the haughty response. "You don't have the manpower to stop us. We are representatives of the Galactic Federation. We have the right."

"No you don't," the President retorted. "This attack is a violation of the Galactic Federation's Constitution. All members of the Galactic Federation are fully autonomous members and as long as all tenets of the Bill of Rights are adhered to, the Federation has no right to forcibly attack or attempt to seize any lands held by any of its members for the Federation as a whole."

"Things changed after the destruction of Daiban and the granting of Emergency Powers to Lord Elric," the Watchman leader told him. "We have the right because Elric is the absolute ruler of the Galactic Federation and _all_ of its members. You will comply with our demands, or you will die."

"No, we won't," Richardson responded harshly. "You want control of Earth's Defense Grid? Bring it on." The battle for the Capitol Building then began as the atmospheric fighters and the Stilettos unleashed their first volley of missiles at the fighters and ground defenses of the Earth forces and allied Federation fighters.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

The battle for the Capitol Building began when the Watchmen's Stilettos, atmospheric assault fighters, and assault shuttles opened fire on the weapons emplacements and the fighters patrolling Washington D.C. Missiles erupted from the weapons bays of the shuttles and fighters, targeting the Earth and allied Galactic Federation fighters and the ground based weapons emplacements surrounding the Capitol Building and others located throughout Washington D.C. Fortunately, the targeting systems of the automated emplacement weapons systems were able to automatically lock onto the missiles and fire on them, scarlet pulses of energy destroying many of the incoming missiles that had been hurtling towards the defenders. As for the others, though, the Federation and Earth Katana-class starfighters had stealth systems that were able to confuse the targeting systems of the Watchmen fighters' missiles. The Katanas flew out in front and took the brunt of the assault, either shooting down the incoming missiles or letting them strike their shields. A few missiles, however, managed to get through and began pursuing the atmospheric Earth fighters, locking onto the heat signature of the engines. As a result, the Earth fighters immediately flew directly towards the sun, a common tactic for dealing with older heat-seeking missiles. The missiles gave chase towards the fighters, but the pilots of the Watchmen fighters knew exactly what the Earth pilots were doing. They were hoping that the missiles would zero in on the sun's heat signature rather than the fighters'. Sure enough, the Earth fighters immediately banked to their sides and the missiles flew on past, heading directly towards the sun, remaining aloft until they ran out of fuel and came crashing down back to the Earth.

The Earth and Federation fighters counterattacked by unleashing their own swarm of missiles. Each fighter locked onto at least four different targets and then unleashed their missiles on the enemy fighters. The Watchman pilots were not nearly as skilled as their Earth and Federation military counterparts, for they deployed no flares, took no evasive action, or performed any other countermeasures to deal with the missiles. The fighters simply kept on flying as the missiles crossed the distance between the two forces and eventually hit their marks, exploding upon impact with the shields and hulls of the fighters, incinerating the unshielded atmospheric fighters with single hits, and merely needing two hits to shoot down the Stilettos. Smoke trailed the damaged Stilettos as they plummeted to the ground and crashed, exploding upon impact, often among allied Watchmen forces. The Watchmen did not even eject from their doomed craft, for their fighters did away with such safety systems in order to allocate the power to other systems, such as shields and weapons. Debris from the obliterated atmospheric fighters rained down upon the city as the battle raged on. Fortunately, much of the city had been evacuated before the battle had begun, and the current fighting was taking place closer to the outskirts of the city and away from the important buildings and residential areas. However, even with the missile barrages from the defending flight group, they were still heavily outnumbered merely, despite the fact that four squadrons of enemy fighters had been destroyed in the initial engagements. While many of the Stilettos had been destroyed, there were still a large number remaining, and with their help, they would be able to inflict severe damage once they got within optimum cannon range, where they excelled. And even then, the defenders still had to deal with the shuttles.

As for the ground defenses, the Watchman shuttles unleashed a volley of energy fire on the automated tanks and defensive drones protecting the city. A large number of tanks and drones were destroyed by the enemy fire, but the shuttles did not escape the fire, unscathed. The anti-aircraft defenses managed to shoot down a Heavy Assault Shuttle and a Drop Shuttle, as well as the tank it was carrying down onto the field. The shuttle crashed into the ground and exploded, propelling dirt and shrapnel in all directions. The remaining Stiletto-class fighters then went and covered the rest of the shuttles, taking the fire meant for the shuttles, as they went in as close as possible and landed their tanks. Many of the Stilettos were destroyed by the defenders' missile and energy barrage. However, they had done their job and allowed the shuttles to deploy their tanks. Most of the tanks deployed were normal Federation main battle tanks, but three of them were Landmaster tanks from Corneria, with the fourth Landmaster having been destroyed when its shuttle had been destroyed. The shuttles remained close to the transports so that they could cover the troops landing. However, the Katanas and atmospheric fighters, which had still suffered no casualties yet, had other ideas. They proceeded to unleash a volley of missiles upon the transports. The Drop Shuttles endured the brunt of the missile strikes and were quickly destroyed, but not before the Troop Transports managed to land and disgorged their troops. The Watchman leader, a tall, blue skinned humanoid belonging to the Nalar race, wearing golden powered armor with a built in shoulder plasma cannon, quickly took notice of that fact and bellowed, "Okay men, we've gotta get to the Building as quickly as possible. The closer we are, the smaller the chance of those starfighters takin' us out!"

To that effect, the Watchman tanks formed a line and proceeded to roll forward with the infantry troops proceeding behind them, using them for cover. While this tactic may have proven effective against a ground force once air superiority had been achieved, the fact that the defenders of the Capitol Building had fighter support, as well as air superiority, put a quick end to this plan. A squadron of Warthogs, banked towards the tanks and unleashed barrage after barrage of energy fire from their gatling energy cannons upon the troops and tanks. The Landmaster tanks, which had ostensibly been designed for anti-aircraft purposes, opened fire with their energy cannons. Large green energy pulses erupted from the Landmasters' cannons and streaked towards the fighters. However, the fighters were too fast and too maneuverable for the cannons of the Landmasters to be able to track and get a reliable bead on. The inability of the Landmasters' cannons to charge a homing laser made it nigh impossible for the Landmasters to shoot them down. The Earth fighters, however, did not have the same problem, especially since these fighters were attack fighters. Missiles erupted from underneath the wings of the fighters, flying towards the tanks. Within seconds, eight tanks had been destroyed, another tank, this one a Landmaster, had suffered severe shield damage and had had its left tread blown off and its primary weapon destroyed. The surviving two Landmaster and the standard Federation main battle tank proceeded to roll forward, firing barrages of energy towards the tanks defending the Capitol Building before the fighters finished them off. A few blasts managed to hit the defending Earth tanks, but blue fields of energy surrounded the tanks, protecting them from harm. The Earth tanks promptly returned fire, scarlet energy pulses erupting from their cannons. The pulses burned through the remaining shields and armor of the Watchman tanks and promptly blew them apart. The surviving ground troops were now without any armor support, and easy picking for the Earth tanks and Marine forces.

The Watchman leader, knowing that this battle was quickly being lost, but also knowing the importance of this mission, activated his comm and yelled, "All Troop Transports, get your asses over here, now! We're gettin' annihilated and need cover ASAP!"

"We copy, sir," the squadron commander of the Troop Transports replied over the radio. "We're on our way."

The large, boxy Troop Transports activated their repulsors and ascended into the air. A few Earth Katanas noticed them going to cover the ground troops that were making their way to the Capitol Building and broke off their engagements with some of the remaining Watchman atmospheric fighters and went to engage the transports. The sleek Katanas banked towards the transports and quickly locked onto them with their anti-vehicle missiles. The large transports were unwieldy enough for their air-to-surface missiles to be able to score a hit, and they would need such missiles to quickly breach the shielding and armor of said transports. Once the fighters had locked onto the transports, the unleashed their barrage of missiles. The missiles erupted from the internal weapons bays of the fighters, two missiles per fighter, and streaked towards the rearmost of the transports. Crossing the distance between the fighters and the transports in only a couple seconds, the missiles slammed into the shields of the transports. The shields glowed a deep blue with the first missile strike as the missiles stressed the shields to the point of breaking, and on one of the transports, even beyond. The second missile of each fighter then slammed into either the weakened shields or the hull of the transport. The unshielded transport had had its engine completely blown off by the second missile strike, and the fuel in its fuel tank ignited. The transport exploded in midair, raining metallic debris down upon the ground troops.

The other two transports fared little better. The remaining missiles struck the three remaining weakened transports and quickly breached the shields. The blue fields of energy sparked and promptly vanished and the remaining energy was transferred to the hulls of the transports. Fire erupted from the engine walls of the stricken transports and the blue glows of some of the engines vanished. Explosions rang out from other areas along the transports and soon, the three transports listed downwards. With only half of their engines and repulsors still functioning, the doomed transports fell down to the Earth, where they crashed into the ground, throwing up dirt and debris. Since the transports still had some of their engines left, they were able to use the power from the engines to cushion the fall, so that the transports did not fall apart upon striking the ground. That was little comfort to the troops that they had fallen upon and crushed during their crashes, though.

The rest of the Katana squadron soon rejoined the smaller flight and the squadron was once again back up to full strength. After the squadron was back to full strength, the fighters took the fight to the Troop Transports. After locking onto the transports, the Katanas fired volley after volley of air-to-surface missiles, knowing that they would need the added firepower, and the fact that the transports were so difficult to maneuver. Missiles rocketed from the fighters and quickly crossed the distance between them and the rest of the transports. The first volley of missiles struck the transports and blue fields of energy sprang into existence as the shields resisted the first volley. The Katanas then opened up with another volley of missiles and the weakened shields of the transports could not resist the second volley. The missiles quickly plowed through the shields and detonated against the hulls of the transports. Explosions rang out and the rears of many transports erupted into flames, those that were not split in half or outright blown to pieces by the missile fire. The flaming transports took an involuntary dive into the ground, where they exploded and sprayed the battlefield, and the Watchman lines, with shrapnel. The Watchman leader dove to the ground, praying that he would not be shredded by the shrapnel and/or that his armor would hold should he be struck. He was fortunate in that his dive had managed to save him from taking the brunt of the assault. Two of his comrades were not so lucky. Their armor had managed to protect them from the smaller pieces of metal propelled towards them, but several large metallic daggers had been launched with so much force that even their armor had failed against them. The Watchmen, both being Nalar, fell to the ground, metal triangles and sharp squares embedded in their abdomens and heads.

The Watchman leader watched as the few surviving transports were taken care of by the Katana squadron. The squadron had foregone their missiles in favor of their pulse laser cannons. Scarlet pulses of energy erupted from the fighters' twin cannons and lashed out against the shields of the lumbering transports. The troops immediately underneath the transports, knowing that the transports above them were more liabilities than assets at the moment, began to flee from the shadows of the massive ships, not wanting to be crushed by the ships when they fell, or killed by the resulting explosions upon their crashes. After two passes, the fighters had stripped the transports of their shields. These transports fought back valiantly, though ineffectively, as they sprayed blue and green energy fire towards the attacking fighters. The Katanas looped around one last time and unleashed another torrent of energy fire at the transports. With their shields gone, the lasers tore through the ships' hulls uncontested. Fires erupted from the engines and other sections of the large ships as more and more laser blasts scored direct hits on the transports and penetrated their hulls. The fighters proceeded to rake the engines of the surviving transports with laser fire; intent on having them crash down onto more of their own troops. The laser fire burned through the engine walls of the ships and soon, instead of a crisp blue glow emerging from the engines, only fire and debris emerged. With the engines reduced to slag, the ships could no longer stay aloft and they soon crashed down to the Earth. Just as with the last batch of transports, once these transports crashed into the ground, they exploded. The casualties incurred by the exploding transports were far less than with the previous crashes, but that gave the Watchmen little comfort as they were now without any air support to speak of, save for the Heavy Assault Shuttles, which were would be no match for the Katanas and the atmospheric fighters used by Earth's defenses.

The twenty-four Katanas and Earth atmospheric air superiority fighters soon banked towards their next victims, the Heavy Assault Shuttles, which were opening fire on the anti-aircraft and anti-vehicle emplacement weapons stationed throughout the grounds leading to the Capitol Building. Missiles and energy fire blazed away from the shuttles and gouged noticeable craters into the dirt. The emplacement weapons and personal force fields that were set up for defense against tanks and infantry soldiers were no match for the amount fire that was being unleashed against them. Dirt was thrown into the faces of fleeing Earth and Federation Marines as they retreated from the shuttles and searched for cover before the shuttles destroyed them. Fortunately, they were soon reinforced by the Katanas and the Earth fighters. Missiles seemingly came out of nowhere, streaking towards the shuttles. The only thing the soldiers on the ground were the contrails of the missiles along with the missiles for the instant before said missiles struck the shuttles. The shields of the shuttles were noticeably weaker than the shields on the Troop Transports, and as such, they were no match for the fighters. Blue fields of energy surrounded the shuttles upon impact, but the fields quickly showed their lack of power when they flickered and broke apart with single hits. The residual damage inflicted by the missiles burnt the hulls of several shuttles. The second missiles of each pack quickly burrowed into the hulls of the shuttles and detonated, quickly blowing apart many of the shuttles. Being not much more maneuverable than the transports meant that they were easy pickings for the fighters, which still had enough anti-surface weapons to inflict significant casualties to the Heavy Assault Shuttles before they expended their missile ordnance. Large sections of the hulls of the shuttles rained down on the field of battle. Being in front of the main advance of the Watchman ground troops, though, the shuttles' destruction did not directly kill many of the Watchman soldiers. However, their absence would be felt within moments. The Katanas and Earth atmospheric fighters soon came about and finished off the remaining Heavy Assault Shuttles. Now the ground troops were without any air support, save for the few remaining fighters, or armor support. They were sitting ducks.

The Watchman leader quickly realized that this assault would be futile, but he knew the importance of taking the Capitol Building. While the shuttles were under attack, he activated his radio and yelled, "This is Watchman Batallion Alpha Leader Ma'vi to Regiment Commander Tashin, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Ma'vi. So far, things are quiet here in New York, how are things goin' with you?" came Tashin's response.

"We're gettin' annihilated here! We've lost all of our armor and heavy air support. We need reinforcements immediately!"

"But if I send you any troops, there won't be enough to defend the Radio Tower!" Tashin warned.

"We don't have a choice!" Ma'vi roared. "We've inflicted minimal, if any, casualties to the Earth and Federation defenders around the Capitol Building. They're force-feeding us our privates down here. We need backup!"

There was a long pause, during which Ma'vi witnessed the last of his Heavy Assault Shuttles being taken down. He looked at his hand-held status indicator and found that the defenders had only lost two atmospheric fighters; and their pilots had managed to eject safely no less. He cursed as he soon saw the tanks and attack fighters bearing down on him and his troops. He knew that the end was coming. The radio soon crackled once more and he heard the voice of Tashin inform him, "We're sendin' you our Assault Shuttles and assault fighters. However, that's all of the extra forces that I'm willing to commit to the attack on the Capitol Building. You'll have to make due with that."

The radio signal was then unceremoniously cut. Ma'vi sighed after the signal was cut, knowing that his forces would be slaughtered before they could take the Capitol Building. Assault Shuttles and assault fighters were not what he and his forces needed. They needed air support to take out the Earth fighters and Katanas. Even with their missile ordnance expended, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before the defenses of Washington D.C. would be reinforced. He soon saw the first of its reinforcements coming in the form of a second squadron of Katanas. He knew that these fighters were fresh and would quickly maul the pitiful Assault Shuttles and assault fighters that were coming to reinforce his troops. He merely prayed that Elric would arrive soon, for if he did not, then whatever Samus and the others were planning would likely come to fruition. Still, he knew that he had a job to do, and he would do it. He would take as many of these Earth scum with him as he could. He then rose and began to run towards the Earth and Federation tanks and Marines that were bearing down on his forces. However, before he could even issue a scream of defiance, the fighters, tanks, and Marines opened fire on him and the remaining Watchmen. A torrent of red was all he saw as he was annihilated by the combined fire of a tank's energy cannon, a Federation Marine, and a Katana-class starfighter opening up with its heavy pulse laser cannons.

Meanwhile, back in his lab in Veilstone City, Cyrus checked over the final reports and simulations. He smiled as he read over the reports and readouts. So far, every simulation indicated that he had everything he needed to unleash Dark Arceus. He had the Red Chain and the Azure Flute. The Azure Flute would allow him access to the Hall of Origin, which would grant him access to Dark Arceus. He looked down at a sheet of paper that contained the musical notes that he would have to play in order to open the stairway to the hall.

Cyrus then went over and picked up the Flute and held it in his hands. He blew into it and played the song that would make the stairway appear. The Vice-Chairman smiled. He imagined his new universe being created from the ruins of the current one. He could hear the screams of the inhabitants of this universe as they were destroyed by Dark Arceus to be used as fuel for Cyrus's own new universe. He looked around and saw that he was alone, for the moment. "Everything is finally coming to fruition," Cyrus muttered quietly, as if talking to the orb. "Soon, I will become a god; a god of a new universe. There will be no more emotions, no more pain, no more suffering, no more joy or happiness. It will only be me. Me, and whatever else I desire." His face then split into an insane grin. He felt like laughing maniacally for a moment, but resisted the urge. It was not over yet. He thought back to that time two years ago when he was stopped by a single Pokémon trainer. He had been so close to accomplishing his goals then, only to be stopped. He could not afford to make the same mistakes that he had made two years ago.

He turned to leave his lab and prepare his helicopter to take him to the Spear Pillar when his secretary entered the lab. Her entry almost startled Cyrus and he stopped. Not knowing whether or not she had startled him, she said, "Forgive my coming unannounced, but I have some information on the other targets of Elric."

"Can it wait?" Cyrus asked, perturbed. "I'm in an awful hurry."

"Sir, you really should hear this. It may pertain to your mission." She then handed him a folder. Cyrus sifted through the papers and saw the pictures of various people and creatures on the top left corners of each page. At first, Cyrus paid little heed to the papers and was about to plop them down on his desk when he noticed the face of a young Pokémon trainer. He had short black hair, hazel eyes, and was wearing a hat in the picture. Cyrus began to seethe as he recognized the Pokémon trainer that had stopped him before, Ash Ketchum. He read over the file and saw that Ash had been a person of interest for Chairman Elric. He widened his eyes at the revelation, unable to hide his surprise.

"Elric is after this boy?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

His secretary nodded. "Yes, sir. He is. But he is not the only one. Check the other files."

Cyrus then thumbed through the other files and searched for faces that he could recognize. He quickly recognized the faces of Council Members Colin Williams and Madeline Powell. He saw that there was a red "X" mark next to the face of a young female Pokémon trainer identified as Leaf. He saw that this indicated that Elric had believed the girl to be dead, but his own people may have found out otherwise. He continued to search through the files, finding Donkey Kong on the next page. After that, he found the face of Samus. "No surprise there," he muttered. He knew all too well of the nightmare that Samus had been for Elric. What he found next, however, _did_ surprise him. On the next page, he found the picture of a humanoid cat-like creature with white skin or fur, save for its tail. The features on this creature were menacing, and it seemed to be quite powerful. Cyrus did not notice his secretary move behind him and look over his shoulder. "It's a Pokémon," she told him.

Again, Cyrus looked startled, but it was not his secretary's voice that startled him. He turned around and stammered, "A Pokémon? That thing?"

She nodded. "Yes. There are several rumors about its origins. Some say it's a clone created by Team Rocket. Others say that it's a child of Mew. The only thing that we know for certain, though, is that this was classified as an S-class threat and that if sighted, Elric should be informed immediately."

_An S-class threat?_ Cyrus mused. _That's the same threat level as Dark Arceus_. "Why are you showing me this Pokémon, then? We haven't seen it at all," Cyrus told her.

"Because we know that Elric has special allies. And it seems as if even these allies are worried about this creature, too," his secretary answered. "If they are worried, then we should be too, especially since this Pokémon is likely a psychic-type Pokémon, if the rumors about it being connected to Mew are true."

It was then that Cyrus grimaced. Things may have just changed greatly. He had heard about the legendary Pokémon, Mew, and how Mew was said to have been the origin of all Pokémon on Earth. While his own research had borne that out, he knew that Mew had no connection with extraterrestrial Pokémon such as Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Arceus. Still, he could not discount the potential danger that this Mewtwo could hold. He read over the paper, which was sparse on information, but it did state that Mewtwo was said to be one of the most powerful Pokémon in terms of Special Attack and Speed. Cyrus doubted that this Pokémon could rival a power like Arceus or Dark Arceus, but he did not want to take any chances.

He turned to his secretary and said, "Thank you. Forward this information to Charon. He'll want to learn of this."

"There's more," she informed him. "We have recently heard that a battle is being waged between the Watchmen and the Earth forces around Washington D.C. Elric's worried about something, for he sent half of his Watchman forces on Earth to take over the Capitol Building."

"Probably to take control of Earth's Planetary Defense Grid," the Vice-Chairman surmised.

The secretary nodded. "But he also stationed the remainder of his Earthbound Watchmen outside of the Radio Tower in New York."

A grin twisted Cyrus's lips. "Get on the comm and tell Charon and the others to accelerate their plans. I'm going to meet them at Spear Pillar as quickly as possible. I want them there and ready to begin as soon as I arrive."

"But sir, won't it take at least a week until we will be certain that everything will go as planned?" his secretary asked. "We still don't know if Dark Arceus can even be controlled. You said you hoped to take a test run with Dialga, Palkia, and/or Giratina before we tried with Dark Arceus."

"I know, but circumstances have forced our hand," Team Galactic's leader replied, scowling at no one in particular. "Just get all of our soldiers to Spear Pillar as soon as possible. And tell them to take as many Dark-type Pokémon as possible, along with their strongest Pokémon as well. We'll need them incase Elric shows up or we get an unexpected visit from the Pokémon League or this Mewtwo." He paused before explaining further, "We have an opportunity to accomplish all of our goals right here, right now. Elric's busy with Samus; Samus is busy with Elric. Ash and the other powerful Pokémon trainers are undoubtedly looking over their shoulders, doing their best to avoid Elric's Watchmen. All of those who are the greatest threat to me have other things to worry about. The Watchmen are fighting in Washington, and will soon be fighting in New York. We have a chance to release Dark Arceus now, with no one even knowing what we're planning, much less actually being in a position to stop us. Nevertheless, I want to take the proper precautions this time. Just get everyone to Spear Pillar, but do so discretely. I don't want the sudden move to tip our enemies to our plans."

"Understood, sir," the secretary replied. "I will inform our agents to abandon their missions and meet you at the Spear Pillar as soon as possible."

"Good," Cyrus replied. As the secretary exited his lab, Cyrus turned to study the dossiers a bit more. He had not heard of these Mario Brothers or Donkey Kong, and Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu were safely in the Unova Region in America. He knew that chances were that he would be meeting them were slim. He was wondering if he should be concerned about Captain Falcon, but he remembered that Falcon was better known as an F-Zero racer than as a part-time bounty hunter. And Samus was likely going to be busy with Elric. The only reason Elric would be so concerned about taking control of Earth's Defense Grid _and_ the Radio Tower would be if Samus had managed to get some dirt on him. Perhaps she had found out about his part in the Space Pirate attack on Daiban, Elric mused. Cyrus could not help but grin. He knew that Elric's own lust for power and for turning the Federation into an Empire would backfire, but it would also provide _him_ with the perfect cover for accomplishing his own goals. And if the rumor that Elric had the help of these Magic Lords was indeed true, it would be all the better for him. All of the old races knew of the threat of the Magic Lords. Even _he_ had taken the time to study all of the information that the Federation currently had on the Magic Lords when he had first heard about them. No one knew of the threat that would be posed by Dark Arceus, for the short time he would be in this realm before he reduced it, and everyone in it, to dust and to the primordial stuff of the universe.

With that thought, Cyrus took the Red Chain and the Azure Flute and exited his lab, making his way through the Team Galactic Headquarters and to the roof. On the roof was a twin engine, tandem rotor helicopter reminiscent of the old CH-47 Chinooks used in the late Earth twentieth century and early twenty-first century. Emblazon on the side of the helicopter was a massive, stylized "G", the emblem of Team Galactic. He did not care whether or not it drew attention to him. With all that was going on in Washington and New York, he doubted that it would even matter. The helicopter was already ready to go, its rotors twirling and the helicopter set to standby. The side hatch to the helicopter was open, awaiting Cyrus's entrance. He knew that the ride would take a couple of hours or so and the set up once he was at Spear Pillar would take longer. He merely hoped that everything would be ready to go by the time he got to the pillar. Before boarding the helicopter, he checked to make sure that he had his strongest Pokémon with him. He could feel his six Poké Balls in his pocket and smiled. He then fumbled inside his jacket and felt the laser pistol in a holster on his shoulder. He wanted to be certain that he had a backup weapon should his Pokémon be taken out of action for whatever reason. Once he was certain that he was ready, he boarded the helicopter. Once he was onboard, he closed the hatch behind him and waited as the helicopter lifted off from the roof of the Team Galactic hideout and proceeded to make its way towards Spear Pillar.

Not too far away, Kreatz and Mauk were making their final approach to a landing zone for their shuttle when they noticed a helicopter taking off from a building in Veilstone City. At first, they made nothing of it until a signal appeared on their own shuttle monitor. Immediately, the words, _Designated Target located_, appeared on the screen, and the helicopter that had taken off was bathed in red. Everyone in the cockpit took notice of the sign and Dawn asked, "Designated target? What does that mean?"

"It means that one of the Watchmen's targets has been found on that helicopter that just took off from that building in Veilstone City," Kreatz explained.

"How many targets do you have?" asked Brock.

"Who knows," Kreatz heaved. "I can barely keep track of them all. Though I'm not what you would call a loyal Watchman."

The two then scanned the helicopter and found nothing all that unusual about it. They figured that it was just one of the old Earth aerial vehicles that was taking some important person away from some building. Kreatz and Mauk then glanced at each other and decided that it would be best to continue with their first assignment and drop off the children and Pokémon trainers. They had a feeling that Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon would want to remain onboard the shuttle. As such, they found a landing zone not too far away and they proceeded to make their way over to the zone. Once they were over the zone, Kreatz put the shuttle into hover mode and began to descend. As the shuttle descended, the ship's landing pads were lowered and after a few moments, the shuttle touched down, a faint shudder reverberating throughout the ship.

Once the shuttle had safely landed, Kreatz proclaimed humorously, "Thank you for riding Kreatz Air. Please watch your step as you disembark from the shuttle."

With that he pushed a button and the boarding ramp of the shuttle began to descend. Once the ramp was fully extended down to the ground, the youngest of the children were the first to disembark from the shuttle, practically fleeing the craft. Kreatz and Mauk could not blame them, for their abductions had been trying to say the least. The children were soon followed by Dawn, then Brock, then Ethan, and Lyra. Cynthia was the last to begin to leave. She went up to both Kreatz and Mauk and told them, "Thank you for not giving in, and helping to save us, especially the children."

"You're welcome, Champion Cynthia," Kreatz and Mauk both responded. "You're welcome to stay with us," Mauk offered.

"I can't," Cynthia almost lamented. "I have to watch over the younger children as we inform their parents, assuming they're still alive, that their children are safe and sound. I'm also going to be doing my best to protect them from any reprisals. Rumors have abounded that Cyrus has come back to Sinnoh. I would not be surprised to find some Watchmen in this region on the lookout for him, but also willing to recapture some escapees as well."

"We understand," Mauk answered. Kreatz, however, had hoped that Cynthia would stay, mainly because he thought that she was attractive. Once the final goodbyes were made, the Sinnoh League Champion disembarked from the shuttle and joined the younger children and other Pokémon trainers in beginning to explore Veilstone City.

After Cynthia departed, the two shuttle pilots looked back and saw Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong remaining onboard the ship, making no moves towards the exit. "So, what are you two going to do?" Kreatz inquired. "If you want to get off here, you can. If you want to get off somewhere else, just tell us and we'll take you there. It's the least we can do for you given your unceremonious captures."

"I can't speak for Donkey Kong, but I wish to remain here," Captain Falcon told the two. "You're going into a combat zone and I wish to help out my homeworld against these Watchmen."

"That's fine with us," Mauk replied. He then turned to Donkey Kong and asked, "And what about you, Donkey Kong? What do you wish to do?"

"I'm coming with you guys," the big ape answered. "I want to pound some more of these Watchmen into the ground," he proclaimed. He then picked up one of the discarded rifles of the Watchmen and cocked it. It appeared as if he was familiar with such weapons.

Both Kreatz and Mauk smiled. "Well, you guys better get comfortable. The ride to the war zone over in Washington and then in New York won't be short."

The others then went and took two stations that had previously been occupied by the Watchmen soldiers that had attempted to kill them. After they had taken their seats, Kreatz and Mauk took their seats as well. Once they were settled in, Kreatz initiated the startup sequence for the shuttle. A low hum echoed throughout the shuttle cabin and both he and Mauk performed the final checks on the systems. Once they were ready to go, the boarding ramp retracted and the shuttle proceeded to lift off: its next destination, Washington D.C.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

_Federation One_ emerged from subspace over the Earth and quickly flew in closer to the planet hoping to achieve a geostationary orbit over Washington D.C. The captain looked out the observational view port and scanned the view of the Earth. Off in the distance, he could see the sheen of several defense turrets as well as the dark glint of a Heavy Defense Platform. He shuddered at the sight of the platform. It was the strongest class of unmanned defense station in the Federation, and Earth had three hundred such platforms stationed over the entire planet, along with countless turrets and other defenses for cover against enemy starfighters and transports. The captain then activated his chair's comm unit and said, "Chairman Elric, sir, we have just arrived over Earth."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll be right there," came Elric's response.

The captain then deactivated the comm unit and scanned the bridge. He could see several officers and men staring out at the window in front of them. Most of the bridge crew was not human, so many of them had never seen Earth before. To them, it was a beautiful, but normal planet, until they noticed the defenses that were stationed around the world. So far, though, the captain had found no starships orbiting the planet. He looked over from his chair to the sensor officer and bellowed, "Scan Earth and its surrounding orbit immediately."

"Yes, sir," the officer responded a little hesitantly. Unlike Elric and the captain, most of the crew of _Federation One_ was not in on Elric's plans, and as such, they had no idea that there was a chance for a battle upon their emergence from warp. The officer did as he was told and began the scan of the blue and green jewel outside the bridge window. After a few seconds, the officer turned back to the captain and reported, "Sir, I am reading conflict in several sectors on the planet. In the city known as Washington D.C. in the North American continent, there is fighting between Elric's Watchmen and Earth and…Federation Marine forces," the officer finished with a puzzled look. "Sir, why would the Watchmen be fighting in Washington?"

"Washington is the capital of the planet," the captain responded. "It is also the location where the controls to Earth's Planetary Defense Grid is located."

"But why would the Watchmen be attacking at all? What has happened? Is there something we should know?"

"Yes, there is," Elric's voice projected as he walked onto the bridge. He immediately stood at the side of the captain and bellowed, "What is the situation, Captain?"

"We have reports of fighting in Washington D.C.," the captain responded. He gazed at the sensor officer, who took that to mean that he was to perform a deeper scan. The communications and tactical officers soon went to work at their own stations and the communications officer, a brutish-looking green-skinned humanoid soon reported in a bark, "Sir, I am receiving numerous requests for reinforcements from the Watchmen in Washington D.C."

The tactical officer, a cyborg Star Elf, chimed in, "The Watchmen have lost all of their air and armor support. They are getting, no, _have_ _been_, annihilated," the officer corrected.

"Damn," Elric swore. "What is the status of the defenses in Washington?"

After a few moments, the tactical officer replied, "Reports indicate that the defenders have suffered light casualties. No fatalities for the defenders has been reported as of yet."

The Chairman gritted his teeth and swore at that statement. "Damn!" he swore. "Are my Watchmen so freaking useless that they can't even kill one guy in an assault?" he muttered to himself. Elric soon regained his composure and began to concentrate on how to turn the situation to his advantage. After a few moments of thought, he came up with nothing. Still, Earth's Defense Grid had not blown him out of the stars, yet. There may have been a way for him to salvage the situation. Before he could begin to make any plans, though, the face of President Jonathan Richardson appeared on the bridge window.

"President Richardson," Elric seethed, barely able to hide his frustration at the failed attack and managing to make it sound more like he was annoyed than angry. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this communiqué?"

"Elric, Washington D.C. was just attacked by a force of Watchmen," Richardson declared harshly. "Sixteen Earth and Federation Marines were wounded in the battle, four of them critically."

"I'm sorry for the Marines. We will do everything we can for their quick recovery," Elric responded, trying to fill his voice with as much sympathy as possible. It was the standard response when military personnel had been injured in battle. Richardson was not buying it, though.

"The Watchmen are your own special police and military force," the President said, pointing his finger towards Elric. "They don't do things like launch attacks on the capital a sovereign world and permanent member of the Galactic Federation Council without authorization. Now, I'm asking you: did you authorize the Watchmen's attack on Washington?"

"No," Elric responded quickly, a little too quickly for Richardson's, and a few of the bridge crew's, liking. Richardson merely smirked at the response.

"That was quick," he noted, his glare focusing in on the Chairman. "I don't believe you. As I said before, the Watchmen would not do something like attack a heavily defended city without your authorization."

"Cyrus could have ordered it," Elric offered. He tried to make his voice sound like he was trying to be helpful, but Richardson saw right through his efforts.

"Cyrus has his own henchmen," the President retorted. "We know that he has recreated Team Galactic and is relying on his own people for important projects. Besides, what reason would he have to hijack Earth's Planetary Defense Grid? He's already on the planet."

That question stumped Elric. After thinking about the question, he came up with the best answer that he could, "Possibly to prevent anyone who was not from Earth from investigating what he was doing." He knew that the answer would not satisfy Richardson.

Richardson glared back at Elric. "What do you want, Elric? Why have you told your Watchmen to attack us?"

Elric knew that there was little that he could say now. He looked around at the bridge crew and saw that a few officers had shocked expressions on their faces. They could hardly believe that the Chairman of the Galactic Federation would authorize Federation personnel to attack a sovereign member of the Federation without any real provocation. While Earth had been belligerent in its unwillingness to allow refugees from Daiban to settle on the planet after the Watchmen Scandal was exposed, Earth was well within its rights to close off its borders, especially after they had been proven right. Others, however, did not seem to care about what Elric had done. Yet others seemed to be spoiling for a fight with Earth. Earth had made quite a few enemies with its unwillingness to allow survivors of Daiban on world after the scandal. Even with its increased exportation of foodstuffs and medical supplies to the survivors, Elric had done a very good job in cultivating the seeds of mistrust and resentment towards Earth and its vast resources. Now, it was growing, for some, into outright hatred. President Richardson, who was still on the screen, soon issued one final statement, "Leave now, Elric. If you continue to advance on the Earth, we will see this as a hostile action and will take defensive measures."

With that, the screen went dark and the image of Earth reappeared in the window. The captain glanced over at the tactical officer and asked, "Is the planet's Defense Grid active?"

The tactical officer glanced down at his monitor and replied, "Partially. The turrets are coming online now, but the Heavy Defense Platforms have yet to activate. However, we are reading a dozen starships coming towards our location. One of the starships is an Archangel-class battlecruiser."

Elric swore again. Just then, the tactical officer reported once more, "Sir, the Heavy Defense Platforms have come online. They've charged their shields and weapons but have not locked onto us yet."

"What about Earth's planetary shield?" the captain cried.

"It's charging," the tactical officer responded. "It'll be fully deployed in about five minutes. It won't be nearly enough time for us to deploy any real strike force. The only way to stop it would be to fire on the surface of the planet."

Neither Elric, nor the captain, liked the tactical officer's assessment, especially since _Federation One_ did not have any weapons. He went over to the captain and whispered, "Captain, is there any way for us to get past the Defense Grid without getting blown to pieces or colliding with the shield?"

"I don't know," the ship's captain whispered back. "But if we launch a cyber attack on the Planetary Shield Generators and projectors in the area of Washington, we could…"

"Forget Washington," Elric interrupted. "New York is our primary target right now. We have to take control of the Radio Tower. Control of Earth's Defense Grid was merely a means to that end."

"So, what do we do? The longer we talk, the less time we have to deploy an assault force."

"We won't be able to reach the Radio Tower. Not without help, anyway."

The cyborg Star Elf tactical officer, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, then blurted out, "Sir, I've got good news on our comms. We've got help!"

Immediately, outside of _Federation One_, ship after ship emerged from subspace in orbit over Earth, around _Federation One_. Green lights lit up on the tactical officer's console as each ship appeared. The officer soon put the display up on the window screen as more and more green dots appeared in their sector of Earth space. In around a minute, over one hundred starships had arrived to assist Elric.

Elric's face twisted into a grin. "Put President Richardson back on the screen."

"Yes sir," the communications officer answered.

Richardson's face soon appeared on the screen, looking as determined as ever. Elric was the first to speak. "Mr. President, I never told you why I wanted to take control of Earth's Defense Grid." He gave a pause before continuing, "It was because I was hoping to avoid bloodshed. However, since we now have a fleet orbiting your world, I'll tell you my demand. You are to deactivate the Radio Tower in New York City. In addition, you are to turn away any Striker-class gunships and any ships associated with said failed class of gunship. In addition, you are to surrender the Earth to Galactic Federation occupation forces immediately, or face reprisal."

President Richardson was not intimidated. Instead, he merely gave a laugh. "What has you so worried, Mr. Chairman?" the President asked. "What information does Samus have on you that could make you look any worse? You're on the verge of attacking a sovereign member of the Galactic Federation; you still haven't been cleared of the charges with regards to having commissioned the bioweapons developed on the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven_. Not only that, but there's the issue of whether or not you were involved with the death of former Chairman Keaton. The only thing worse would be…oh my. It can't be." He then gave a pause. He was about to accuse the Chairman of something, likely planning the attack on Daiban, but he decided against it. However, what he left unsaid was more damning of Elric than what he had said.

Elric gritted his teeth and clenched his fists once more as he made a throat-cutting gesture, telling the comm officer to cut the transmission. Soon, the tactical officer's voice rang out once more, "Sir, Earth's planetary shield is beginning to close. If you wish to disable it, you'll have to authorize our hackers to poke holes into it now!"

Elric did not like the fact that he was the one who was going to be launching the attack, since it would give his opponents ammunition for their desires to see him either step down or scale back his current policies, but he knew that he had no choice. "Send down the viruses and disable the Earth's planetary shields in the sector over Washington D.C." There were advantages, for him, to keep certain shields operational. For one thing, it would provide cover for any fighters or transports once they entered the atmosphere through the hole in the shields.

"Cyber attacks and viruses have been sent," the tactical officer announced. "Grids One and Two are destabilizing. The others are stable, though. If you're going to send down any ships, you need to do so soon, sir. Earth's techies are quite good and are already beginning to ward off our viruses. Our fighters might also appreciate some capital ship support, too."

Elric did not like having to have a capital ship the size of _Federation One_ enter a planet's atmosphere since _Federation One_ was massive and lacked the power to lift off from the ground should the ship have to land on the planet. Still, he knew what he had to do. He ordered, "Prepare to take us into Earth's atmosphere now. Once inside, we'll deploy security forces to take and hold the Radio Tower."

The ship began to move towards the planet when an alarm klaxon went off. "Sire, the Defense Grid and one of the starships is locking onto us!"

Elric smiled. "Perfect," he replied quietly. He felt as if Earth would now be viewed as the aggressor in this incident, despite the fact that it was his forces that had launched the cyber attack on the planetary shield grid.

What Elric did not want to see, however, was one of his warships, a Gehenna-class dreadnaught, move towards _Federation One_ and one of the enemy ships and power its weapons. Despite locking on, the Earth starships had held their fire and had only charged their energy weapons, making no signs of opening their missile ports or arming their matter-antimatter missiles. The massive ships began to target one of the Heavy Defense Platforms and the Earth starship closest to _Federation One_ and opened its gunports and missile ports. Elric's eyes went wide as he noticed the ships guns glowing, about to fire. "No!" he cried as he tried to wave off the ship, knowing that it was futile since he had no channel open to the ship. Blue lances and pulses of energy immediately erupted from the dreadnaught and streaked towards the platform and enemy starship, an Asgard-class heavy cruiser. The shields of the Defense Platform and the Asgard heavy cruiser strained under the weight of the fire, but they managed to hold firm against the assault and both the ship and platform suffered only minimal damage. Both the Asgard heavy cruiser and the Heavy Defense Platform then immediately locked onto the Gehenna-class dreadnaught and returned fire.

Scarlet lances emerged from both the heavy cruiser and the Heavy Defense Platform. Despite the strong shielding of the Gehenna-class dreadnaught, alone, it was no match for the massive firepower of the platform, much less the firepower of both the platform and the heavy cruiser. However, the ship would not be alone for long, for the rest of Elric's fleet soon opened fire on both the platforms in the area, as well as the approaching Earth ships. The Earth ships immediately weathered the storm and fired back at Elric's fleet. The Gehenna-class dreadnaught was the first casualty of the fight as the Heavy Defense Platform reduced the ship to metallic Swiss cheese before the ship exploded. Elric could only watch on in horror as he knew that his fleet, while formidable, would be no match for the defenses of Earth. Much worse, since Earth's planetary shields were beginning to rise in the affected grids, which would make entering the atmosphere with anything large a risky proposition at best. And with the over-exuberance of the _Perdition_, any action that he took against Earth now would be seen as an act of war, if the initial attack by the _Perdition_ were not already perceived as such.

Elric was about to order a retreat of the fleet so he could try a more diplomatic approach, loathing the fact that Earth would be in the position of strength, when he heard two voices inside his mind. _Come to the ready room, at once_, they said.

Elric knew that the voices belonged to Aglara and Aramon. He went over to the captain and said, "Captain Ka'Rva, please handle the situation in my absence."

"Certainly, sir," Ka'Rva replied. Cyrus then departed the bridge while Ka'Rva tried to salvage the situation, knowing that it would be highly difficult, if not impossible to do.

Elric entered the captain's ready room and, sure enough, he saw both Aglara and Aramon standing in the room, dressed in their Magic Lord armor, carrying their ornate swords. After entering, Elric simply stood there and genuflected before them, saying nothing. After a few moments of silence, Aglara was the first to speak. "Dress yourself accordingly, Elric. We are going to assist you in getting down to Earth, assuming you do something for us."

"How?" Elric asked, almost in disbelief. "Earth's shield is up with only two grids still fluctuating due to our cyber attack. There's no way for us to go through it."

"Leave that to us. Just know that our services for you are not free."

"I know that you want my allegiance and you already have it."

"Our price is more for the here and now," Aglara stated.

"What do you want me to do?"

"We want you to lead the assault on the Radio Tower," Aramon answered. "You are the one who is in danger should Samus reveal your part in the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters on Daiban. As such, you should be the one leading the attack. Besides, chances are that there will be Chosen Heroes down there. We want you to kill them. We cannot rely on your servants. After all, two of them have already betrayed you."

Elric's eyes widened with surprise. "What? Who?" he blurted.

"Commanders Kreatz and Mauk," Aglara responded. "And Mauk was never loyal to you to begin with."

Elric gritted his teeth again. He had always suspected that those two did not have the stomach for doing the dirty deeds that needed to be done in order to secure his power. Still, he did not think that they would actually betray him, especially Kreatz with him being a Star Elf and all. He then told the two Magic Lords, "I can't risk going down to Earth! I'm needed up here to coordinate the attacks. What if Samus comes and the rest of the fleet does not shoot her down?"

"That is your problem, not ours," Aglara retorted haughtily. "We are doing more for you than anyone else from our kind would. Remember Elric; you are our servant. You do what we tell you to, when we tell you, how we tell you. You will only gain your true freedom once you do as we ask; or die. We trust the captain of this starship to assist you in your goals. We do not trust the Watchmen on the surface to kill the Chosen Heroes."

"Then why do you not kill them yourselves?"

Aglara and Aramon considered Elric's question. They did not want to reveal their crippling weakness to psychics, of which at least one of the known Chosen Heroes was. However, Elric did ask a pertinent question. They then began to think that this might be as good a time as any to test the waters, so to speak. With Cyrus seeking to unleash a horrible evil upon the planet, chances were that Mewtwo would be drawn to Cyrus and Team Galactic, allowing them to deal with Samus and the other weaker and/or less versatile Chosen Heroes on Earth. Eventually, Aglara answered, "Because we need you to cover our involvement until we are ready and have found the most dangerous of the Chosen Heroes. Once Mewtwo is found, we shall act. Until then, our presence must remain hidden. To that end, before you deploy your forces, fire at a single point on the planetary shield grid that is still fluctuating. We will then collapse the shield while making it seem as if your fire got through due to the weakness of the shield due to the cyber attacks. Also, make it look like you're using special weapons in your assault as well. Your dealings with the N'Kren will be a good excuse for having such weapons. That should conceal our involvement, but move quickly. The shields will regenerate quickly."

"But what about the defense platforms or the turrets?" Elric cried.

"Again, that's your problem," the Magic Lords retorted. "We are doing more for you than you can conceive. Now act quickly, before Earth's planetary defenses destroy more of your fleet and ships start deserting. Oh, and one more thing," they added. "Once the shield is down, I know that you will be tempted to destroy the Radio Tower to prevent the dark secrets that Samus has acquired from getting out. Don't. We have a use for the Radio Tower."

Elric looked puzzled. "What possible use could you have for the Radio Tower?"

"Don't forget your place!" Aglara snapped. "That is for us to know and for you to find out. We need your help in accessing it. Once that is finished, you will have the Federation all to yourself."

Elric then grinned and replied, "I will do as you ask. I must go to the bridge to relay the information to the captain."

"Then go," the two teenaged Magic Lords commanded, pointing towards the exit to the ready room.

Elric exited the ready room and made his way out onto the bridge. He approached Captain Ka'Rva and told him, "Captain, contact the rest of the fleet. I think we have a way to penetrate Earth's shield."

Ka'Rva nodded and told the comm officer, " Lieutenant Namdo, open a channel to the rest of the fleet."

"Channel Open, sir," Namdo replied.

Ka'Rva then told Elric, "It's your show."

Elric then stepped forward and said, "All ships, this is Chairman Elric of the Galactic Federation. I may have a way to breach Earth's planetary shield. Target Shield Grid One over Washington D.C. and open fire. Since it's still fluctuating, a concentrated assault might be able to breach the shield."

Namdo waited for a few seconds before stating, "Sirs, the ships have responded and they are confirming your orders."

"Good," Elric cooed. He then turned to the tactical officer and said, "Lieutenant Commander Rohas, once the fleet is ready, and awaiting your command."

"Then by all means, tell them to fire," Elric stated calmly.

With that, the rest of Elric's fleet began to open fire on the fluctuating portion of the planetary shield. Blue energy pulses and large matter-antimatter missiles pummeled the severely weakened sector of the shield relentlessly. Still, despite its fluctuating power, the shield was not breached. Elric could only watch and hope that his benefactors would do their part soon, for if they did not, then there would be questions as to how his fleet managed to break through a heavy shield like Earth's. However, his worries were alleviated when the shield started to fluctuate even more than before. To the outside observer, it seemed as if the weapons fire was having an effect, but Elric knew better. It was the Magic Lords working their magic. Soon, he witnessed the shield flash once more and then disappear.

"I want a reading on that shield now!" Elric demanded. "Is it down? Can we start landing people on Earth?"

Checking his readings, Rohas answered, "Confirmed, Grid One of the planetary shield has fallen. The fleet is shifting its position in order to plug the hole." He then turned to the Chairman and the captain and asked, "What are your orders, sirs?"

"Tell the Watchmen on the ships and my Elite Army forces to ready themselves for battle," the Chairman responded. "We don't know how long that shield will stay down, and we won't get another chance at taking control of the Earth's defense grid and the Radio Tower. Until then, hold here and take no further hostile actions unless the Earth ships fire first."

"Yes, sir," the tactical officer responded.

The Chairman smiled at his good fortune. This was his chance. Still, he knew that he had an opportunity and that he would not get another one. If he could take every precaution to stop Samus, he had to try. And his best chance would be if he managed to take over the Radio Tower. If she managed to get to the Tower and transmit the data she had obtained, all of his plans would come crashing down all around him. He then pushed a button on the control panel on the captain's chair and ordered, "All troops and Watchmen to the transports!We're going to the surface!" He then turned to the captain and said, "Captain, I'm leaving you in command of _Federation One_ and the fleet. Hold steady and cover our landing. Hopefully we can end this without too much more bloodshed." With that, the Chairman left the bridge so he could lead his troops down to Earth.

Meanwhile, down on Earth, President Richardson looked over at the technicians and engineers as they hurried to try to figure out what went wrong with the planetary shield generators in Grid One. "Anything?" he asked the lead technician.

The technician shook his head. "No sir. We've got nothing. At first, it seemed as if the shields were breached due to the weapons fire since they were fluctuating so wildly, but upon further inspection, we found that despite the fluctuations, the weapons fire was insufficient to penetrate the shields."

"That leaves only two options, then," Richardson stated. "Either it was a magical or a psychic power that breached the shield."

"Elric could have gotten a hold of N'Kren weapons that were designed to penetrate shields," the technician offered. "It would explain why such a small volume of fire was able to collapse the shield."

"Perhaps, but I doubt it," the President responded. "Our spies indicated that the N'Kren had not given Elric any weapons at all." He then paused before continuing, "Anyway, it doesn't really matter now. All that matters is getting that shield grid back online."

"Yes, sir," the technician said, nodding. "We should have it back up in about fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, that should be more than enough time for Elric to launch a wave of fighters and/or transports into the atmosphere."

"Thank you, technician," Richardson told him. He then left the technicians to their work while he went back to his office so he could inform the rest of the Earth's military of what was happening and have them launch a few fighters so they could intercept Elric's assault force.

Back onboard _Federation One_, Elric, who was now dressed in power armor made his way down to the transports. He had told Captain Ka'Rva to inform him of any changes. He soon heard the captain inform him, "Sir, a hole has opened up in the planetary shield. One of the projectors has been destroyed. You must hurry before they plug up the hole."

"I hear you, Captain." Elric responded. He then turned to the troops and Watchmen and said, "Okay men, here are your orders. You are to take control of the Radio Tower in New York City, no matter the cost. You may encounter Federation Army soldiers and Marines, as well as Earth forces. Do not hesitate to fire on them. It is vital that we take control of the Radio Tower and not let Samus Aran have access to it."

"Understood sir," the Watchmen all responded in unison. After the small briefing, the troops all filed onto the ships.

Once onboard the transports, the troopers all took their seats, with Elric close to the front of the ship. Soon, Captain Ka'Rva's voice sounded once more, "Sir, we've detected a ship emerging from warp approximately three hundred thousand kilometers away from here. It is a Striker-class gunship." There was then a pause before the voice blared over the radio again, this time more frantically, "It's Samus Aran! She's here!"

Elric's heart skipped a beat at the report. "Damn," he muttered. She had come sooner than he had anticipated. He knew that he had to do something now. "Pilot," he called to the pilot of the transport, "take the transport squadron down to the Earth and secure Radio Tower. Tell the rest of the ships to launch all starfighters and to send as many as they can spare towards Samus's gunship. She reverted back to realspace three hundred thousand kilometers away, pretty close to the moon."

That gave him and the others some time. Samus's gunship, while fast, was not as fast as her Hunter-class gunship. Not only that, but the Striker-class gunship was a class of ship that had been discontinued. In fact, it had been the Hunter-class gunship that had replaced the Striker-class ship in deployment. The transports then proceeded towards the atmosphere of Earth.

Meanwhile, the starfighters split off into two forces. The vast majority of the starfighters proceeded to cover the transports in their travel to Earth. They formed what looked to be a shell over the main force of transports in order to cover the transports as the defense platforms, capital ships, and Earth starfighters as they made their way towards the Radio Tower. A great many of the fighters were destroyed as the transports made their way down to Earth, but those that survived would assist in allowing the transports access to the Radio Tower. However, a second force of fighters broke off from the main force and turned back towards the moon. Their target was much more important, Samus Aran. If they were successful in destroying her ship, and her, then all of the actions of Elric and the others would be unnecessary.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Samus's ship reverted back to normal space about ten thousand kilometers away from the opposing battle fleets that were squaring off in the orbit of Earth. Immediately upon emerging from subspace, her gunship's sensors immediately detected the presence of the two fleets, that she believed at first were still one, and the defenses of Earth. She soon detected, though, that several ships were opening fire on each other. She soon saw the lights of starfigher engines flitting about the massive fleets, along with scarlet and sapphire lights erupting from the starfighters as they engaged in dogfights with each other. She then saw several lances erupt from one of the defense platforms that was surrounding the blue jewel of Earth. The lances tore apart a Federation Olympus-class battleship in a single volley, though it was unclear if the ship or its shields had suffered earlier damage. She wondered what was going on that was causing Federation starships and platforms to open fire on each other. Samus then told Adam, "Adam, scan the fleets and the planet, as well as its comms. I want to know why Earth's Defense Grid is opening fire on the Earth." _Had Elric started an invasion of Earth already_? she wondered.

Adam performed the scan and after a couple of seconds, answered, "Comm signals indicate that Elric has started an invasion of the Earth. His primary targets appear to be Washington D.C. and the Radio Tower in New York City. So far, Elric's fleet has not opened fire on the surface of the planet, for I am detecting no damage to its surface. However, I am detecting a gap in the Earth's planetary shields."

"Where?" the hunter blurted.

"In Shield Grid One, right over Washington D.C.," Adam responded. "So far, there has been no surface fire from the planet in response, though that is likely due to the fact that the planetary shields are still up in most other sectors. However, Elric's fleet seems to focusing almost exclusively on the fallen shield grid sector.

Samus did not like the sound of that. She had dreaded that Elric might have learned of the information that she possessed, but she did not expect him to launch a full-scale invasion of the planet. "Can you identify which ships are Earth or allied with Earth and which ships are Elric's?" the bounty hunter asked.

"Yes, lady," Adam answered. Samus then focused on the HUD and soon, the ships and fighter blips changed color to correspond to whether or not they were friend or foe. The white dots on the HUD indicated friendlies, along with a green outline on the window screen, and the black dots represented enemies, depicted with a shade of red over the starships and fighters on the window screen. Blue flashes of light immediately flashed past the cockpit and Samus looked out the window. Three Stiletto-class starfighters were closing in on her. She believed that they were Elric's forces, but even so, she did not wish to fight them if she could avoid it. She raised her ship's shields, charged its energy weapons, and opened a channel to the fighters, crying, "Hold your fire! I'm not an enemy! My name is Samus Aran. I'm a bounty hunter in the employ of the Galactic Federation. I have come to Earth carrying important information, not just for the planet, but for the entire Federation."

Another shot flashed past her cockpit. "You will power down your engines and arrest your momentum immediately," a voice sounded over the speakers. The voice sounded reptilian so Samus immediately ruled out the voice belonging to an Earth fighter. "Lower your shields and power down your weapons now or we will destroy you."

A cursory scan of the fighters indicated that their weapons were hot and they were locking onto her ship. Despite the fact that she suspected that a fight would be unavoidable, she at least partially obeyed the pilot's order and powered down her weapons to standby mode rather than have them be at full charge. Still, in standby mode, she could quickly charge them should the Federation, if they _were_ Federation, fighters decide to fire on her and engage her in battle. She had no intentions of lowering her shields, though. "Lower your shields and surrender yourself or be destroyed," the voice came in over the comm, more forcefully this time.

"Only if you put your own weapons into standby mode," she countered.

"Final warning, lower your shields or we will open fire!" the pilot growled.

"Why? What crime have I committed?" Samus demanded.

"You are in possession of illegal information. You will surrender now or die. We have been authorized by Chairman Elric to kill you if you give us no other choice," the pilot warned.

Samus grimaced. Elric knew the information that she had obtained. That meant that he must have had a spy in Admiral Dane's ranks. "I cannot," Samus answered calmly. "The information that I carry with me is vital to the security of the Galactic Federation. I cannot surrender to you or to anyone else, for that matter."

"Then you leave us with little choice," the pilot finished as several bursts of energy flashed by Samus's cockpit.

Samus immediately performed evasive maneuvers and attempted to evade the enemy fire. Several more pulses of energy zoomed by the ship before she felt a slight shudder throughout the ship. She checked her readouts and found that her shields were now at ninety-five percent. This puzzled Samus since she remembered the Stilettos having far more powerful energy cannons. Perhaps these were of an older model, for she quickly remembered that the Stilettos were gradually being phased out by the newer and superior Katana-class starfighter in some fleets. So far, her scans showed no Katanas coming her way, though she detected quite a few of them near the mass of starships holding position near the hole in the planetary shields.

Another shudder reverberated throughout the cabin. Checking her ship's status, she found that her shields were down to eighty-seven percent. This last blast had been more powerful. Another hit, and she soon saw that the shields on her ship were at fifty percent. _Darn_, she grimaced. _That was a missile hit_. She could not take too many more of those. Knowing that a Striker-class gunship was mainly designed for use by more than one person, she told Adam, "Adam, link yourself with the weapons system of the ship. I'll fly the ship and maintain control of the primary forward cannons. You take control of the retractable turrets. If you can, try to target shields and weapons only. If reasonably possible without endangering us too greatly, avoid destroying the pursuing fighters, but do your best to neutralize their threat. If that means destroying them, don't hesitate to do so."

"Understood, Samus," came Adam's response.

The gunship's turrets then deployed. A pair of linked energy cannons rose from the dorsal and ventral surfaces of Samus's gunship. The cannons swiveled back towards the three Stilettos that were chasing Samus as she accelerated towards the fleets, and the Earth's atmosphere. The pilots of the Stilettos apparently had not been briefed on the modifications that the bounty hunter had made to her gunship, for they seemed to be surprised and were slow to react when Adam fired a single volley of energy blasts towards the lead fighter. Being careful to target one of the engine pods of the fighter, rather than the fuel tank or the main hull, the scarlet energy bolts unleashed by Samus's gunship merely burned a series of holes into the engine pod located on the wing of the starfighter. The shields of the Stiletto flared with the first two hits, but the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth hits managed to score direct hits on the engine pod unimpeded. The damaged pod began to spark and soon there was an explosion, which sent the fighter careening into a second Stiletto. The two fighters collided, causing the shields of the second fighter to flare for a brief second before being overwhelmed by the momentum of the other fighter. Soon, both fighters were careening out of control through space. Samus noticed two new readings as the pilots of both fighters managed to eject from their doomed craft. Samus said a silent prayer of thanks that the pilots were alive, and would likely remain that way. That just left one more Stiletto to deal with.

The third and final Stiletto would not let the downing of his two wingmen go unavenged, though. The third fighter came at Samus with a renewed determination and viciousness. Blue pulses of energy lashed out towards Samus's gunship as the final fighter fired on her with reckless abandon. Samus almost smirked. This pilot was letting his emotions get the better of him. And this was something that Samus would eagerly take advantage of. She performed a series of complex evasive maneuvers, putting all of her training both as a member of the Galactic Federation military and police force, as well as being a bounty hunter, to good use, avoiding each and every one of the energy bolts that the pursuing fighter was unleashing upon her. She watched as the fighter was accelerating in order to close the gap, coming in at blistering speed. She then used the enemy's speed to her advantage as she abruptly decelerated her own gunship. The enemy pilot was not expecting that maneuver, for he did nothing to slow down. As a result, the Stiletto zoomed past Samus's gunship and using her superior reflexes, Samus opened fire with the primary forward heavy laser cannons the instant the fighter was in the gun sights. Two scarlet energy pulses lanced out towards the Stiletto and scored two direct hits on the starboard engine pod of the fighter. The first laser blast collapsed the shields of the Stiletto while the second burned a hole straight through the pod. The pod immediately began to spark and the fighter listed to the right before stabilizing itself. However, the fighter was no longer able to maneuver properly, for several of the starboard maneuvering thrusters had been damaged by the energy blasts and the sparking of the engine pod. As it was, the Stiletto was now out of the fight and Samus could concentrate on the capital ships that were between her and the planet.

She then focused once more on her journey to Earth. After Adam proclaimed, "All clear, lady. I'm detecting no more enemy fighters in your flight path," she flew straight towards Earth. She checked her sensors and found signs of fighting near the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., not far from where the Space Pirate frigate had appeared. She then opened a channel to Earth, stating, "This is Samus Aran calling Earth, do you copy?" she spoke into her comm transmitter. She then anxiously waited for a response. Eventually, it came.

"Samus Aran?" a voice exclaimed. She recognized the voice as belonging to Councilman Colin Williams. "You've come. I'm sorry for the hot reception, but we are having issues with Elric up in orbit."

"I understand," Samus responded in a calm tone. "I have the information I obtained on _Space Lab Moreau_. It is of grave importance to the Galactic Federation that must be transmitted to all worlds simultaneously."

"What does the information contain?" a second male voice asked. Samus knew the voice as having belonged to President Richardson of Earth.

"I don't want to say over an open line, especially with Elric's forces so close to the planet," the bounty hunter answered. "Will you grant me clearance to land on world?"

"It's that sensitive?" Richardson commented. After a few seconds, he spoke again, "Alright Samus. Clearance granted. But be warned, we have a force of transports and starfighters headed our way launched by Elric's fleet. They appear to be headed towards the Radio Tower with a few of them headed towards us as well."

"I copy," Samus replied. She then cut the comm line and proceeded to fly her gunship towards the planet. She then scanned for the transports. She quickly found them, having already entered the atmosphere of the planet. She quickly noticed the debris of starships drifting all around the opening of the planetary shields as Elric's fleet exchanged fire with the Planetary Defense Grid and the Earth defense fleet. So far, one defense platform had suffered damage with two of its forward weapons down, but the others continuing to unleash torrents of energy fire upon the invading ships. She also saw the debris of several automated defense turrets and transports, as well as the wreckage of no less than a dozen capital ships. She figured that the ships had been shields for the transports until they reached the atmosphere, when the danger posed by unleashing powerful weapons fire like that of the platforms became too dangerous for the planet to risk.

Red alert klaxons went off throughout her cockpit cabin. Several of Elric's fighters had turned around and were quickly closing in on her position, rocketing through the atmosphere in order to meet her. The bounty hunter quickly switched to her ship's cluster seeker missiles and proceeded to lock onto all twelve of Elric's Stiletto-class starfighters once they were within range of the missiles. A single joystick with a red button on top and a trigger button on its front emerged from the piloting console and Samus grabbed hold of it. As the stick rose, the weapons bay of the gunship opened and prepared to release two cluster seeker missiles from the bay. Once they were within one hundred kilometers, she pushed the top button twice, and unleashed two cluster seeker missiles. The missiles rocketed from Samus's gunship and streaked towards the dozen Stilettos that were closing in on her. When the missiles were within a few kilometers of the fighters, each missile promptly split off into six smaller missiles. Each of the six smaller missiles then homed in on its own target, a single enemy starfighter. The starfighters immediately performed evasive maneuvers, attempting to avoid the incoming missiles, for each mini-missile still had enough power to destroy a Stiletto-class starfighter without a problem. Despite the juking and jiving of the Federation starfighters, the missiles were easily able to match their maneuvers and quickly close the distance with the fighters. The missiles flew right up the fighter's tailpipes and detonated, blowing apart the starfighter. She did, however, manage to catch a glimpse of a pod rocketing away from the starfighter immediately upon its destruction, indicating that the pilot had managed to eject safely. One by one, each starfighter exploded in a magnificent display of fireworks and metal. Within ten seconds, the entirety of the enemy fighter squadron had been destroyed.

After their destruction, Samus continued her trek towards Earth. With Elric's forces occupied fighting Earth's defenses, she managed to make her way past the warring fleets uncontested. A few stray blue energy bolts flashed past her cockpit, but they were not close enough to cause her any real worry. She was still careful to not let a stray energy bolt strike her starship and end her mission prematurely, though. She glanced out the cockpit and watched as Elric's forces unleashed torrents of energy fire upon the defense platforms and starships sealing the breach in the planetary shield. Red and blue energy bolts and lances were hurled at the platforms and opposing ships. The defending ships and platforms countered with red beams and pulses of energy, and they were by far getting the better part of the exchange. Despite Elric and a group of transports and fighters managing to breach the shield and preparing to land on the planet, none of the other transports that had launched from Elric's fleet had managed to breach the defenses and assist the first force of invaders. Any transport that had tried to fly past the defenses had been instantly vaporized by the incoming fire of the defenders. The same fate came to any enemy starfighter that attempted to go down and cover Elric's landing.

Samus, however, had no problems flying past the defenses of Earth. If anything, the defenses provided covering fire for her, for any missiles that were unleashed by enemy Stilettos that came towards her were immediately shot down. In addition, any enemy fighters, transports, and capital ships that tried to come after her also met the same fate. Within seconds, Samus had entered the Earth's atmosphere.

As Samus's ship entered the atmosphere, she decelerated her ship so as to control her descent. Her shields then flared due to the friction between her starship and the air of the planet. Within ten seconds, Samus broke through the cloud layer and immediately banked her starship so that she would be headed towards Washington D.C. While the information that she held against Elric was vital to the Federation, and Earth, she suspected that there was an important meeting going on in Washington if both President Richardson and Colin Williams had been present in the Capitol Building. Samus took sensor readings of the city and found that there was still fighting going on inside the city, as well as on its outskirts.

Samus glanced down at Adam and told him, "Adam, scan the transports. I want to know if they're carrying any tanks or other armor support for Elric's forces. Also, scan the fighting forces so we can identify who is a foe from who is friendly."

"Yes lady," Adam quipped as he began his scan. While he was scanning the ships, Samus switched to her gunship's air-to-surface missiles in order to take out any enemy tanks that may have been deployed. After a few seconds, Adam reported back to Samus, saying, "Samus, I have finished my scans. The IFF systems on your HUD have been adjusted accordingly. In addition, those transports _are_ delivering armor to the battlefield. Given the number of ground troops present in this wave, if the transports are allowed to deliver their cargo, then they will manage to take the Capitol Building."

"Thanks Adam," she said. She then began targeting the transports with her air-to-surface missiles, feeling that she would need them in order to quickly penetrate the shields of the transports. After a second or so, her ship's targeting computer had locked onto four of the transports. Once the tone became solid, she pushed down on the firing button on her ship's control stick once. Her internal weapons bay opened and four missiles leapt from the underside of her ship. Despite being designed as air-to-surface missiles, they were still able to target slow moving, or large, aircraft such as the transports. The missiles did not have to perform any intricate maneuvers in order to strike the four transports. The missile struck the engine pods of the transports and detonated. Smoke emerged from the new holes that had been punched into the engine pods and the hulls of the transports. The transports began to list downward as their engines and repulsors began to lose power and give out, no longer able to keep the craft aloft. The ships fell towards the ground, with the crews frantically pushing every ounce of energy into the ventral shields, hoping that the shields would be able to absorb some of the impact and keep the transports from breaking apart upon impact. They would soon find out whether their shields would be sufficient to save the crews of the transports when the ships struck the earth. Dirt and debris were thrown into the air upon the ships' impact with the ground. The shields of each ship flared for an instant before giving out on two of the ships. On the ships whose shields failed almost instantly, the hull bent and warped upon making contact with the ground. The ship's skin began to crack and even break apart. If any of the transport crews managed to survive, the equipment inside was likely not so lucky.

As for the other two transports, they fared a little better. Their shields had managed to hold out longer and collapsed after they had already absorbed most of the shock. As a result, those two ships managed to land on the ground much more softly than the other two. As a result, the ships suffered minimal damage to their hulls and the equipment that they carried and while they were no longer able to fly, they could still deploy their cargo to the battlefield.

Samus, seeing that two of the transports were still intact, relatively speaking, then banked her ship back towards the battlefield and began to assault the ground forces that were emerging from the transports, particularly the two Landmaster tanks that were now headed towards the front lines to support the others. _Landmasters? In Elric's army_? she thought when she caught sight of the tanks. She had heard that the Landmaster tank was a mainstay of the Cornerian Army, not the Federation military forces. "Adam, scan those Landmasters," Samus directed. "I want to know what variant of tank they are."

"I'm on it," the computerized voice of Adam Malkovich answered. As he was performing his scan, Samus moved a little closer to the tanks. Apparently, this caught their attention, for the two Landmasters immediately swiveled their turrets towards her gunship. Once they had drawn a bead on her, the tanks opened fire. However, Samus was already in the process of performing evasive maneuvers, so when the tanks opened fire, she managed to avoid taking a hit. It took a second or two for the cannons on the Landmasters to charge so they could fire a second shot. That was when Adam made his report, "Scan complete, Samus. Those tanks are enhanced Landmaster tanks with enhanced shielding. They are identical in design to the variants used by the Star Fox Team. These versions were particularly designed for use as anti-aircraft tanks. They can't charge a homing laser or use Smart or Nova Bombs, but their main cannon is stronger than it was on previous models. They can also hover, and perform a barrel roll in order to generate a shield that deflects energy weapons."

"I got it," Samus confirmed as her ship danced away from another two energy blasts. She checked her weapons loadout and saw that she still had four remaining air-to-surface missiles, and four air-to-air cluster seeker missiles. She wanted to save the air-to-air missiles for dealing with the Stilettos that were undoubtedly going to be attacking the other Earth forces. However, she knew that four missiles might only be enough for dealing with one of the tanks. The other, she would have to take out using her energy cannons. She proceeded to deploy said cannons and had them target the nearest of the tanks. She needed to make sure that these reinforcements did not reach the front lines, but she also did not want to have to kill Federation soldiers. Even though these soldiers were likely Watchmen, it pained her to open fire on the tanks. Four missiles erupted from her weapons bay, along with a volley of energy bolts being fired from her main energy cannons. The missiles rocketed towards the farther Landmaster and converged on it, detonating upon impact. A massive cloud of smoke and flame obscured the Landmaster as the missiles detonated and Samus lost the tank inside the cloud. She checked her targeting sensors and found the red blip disappear from her sensors, indicating that it was either destroyed, or so severely damaged that it was mission-killed. Samus's focus then shifted to the remaining Landmaster.

Her ship continued to launch a barrage of energy fire upon the second Landmaster, inflicting severe damage to the tank's shields. The tank desperately performed a series of barrel rolls that generated a shield that deflected some of the beams away from the tank, and sometimes into a line of Watchmen soldiers. The tank also took the opportunity to fire on Samus's gunship, but it was unable to score a hit, Samus using her ship's speed and maneuverability to great effect. After several passes, the tank's shields were gone and the bounty hunter knew that she had the tank right where she wanted it. One final volley of scarlet energy fire was all it took to destroy the tank. Her energy bolts burned their way through the hull of the tank, tearing hole after hole inside the tank until it practically fell apart. Samus did not stop to admire the scene, though. She merely continued to turn her attention towards the squadrons of Stilettos that were coming to try to attain air superiority over the battlefield once more.

She performed an Immelmann turn and plotted an intercept course of the incoming flight group of Stilettos, numbering over thirty-six aircraft. Samus switched to her air-to-air cluster seeker missiles and programmed the missiles to target twenty-four Stilettos, one for each missile of her four remaining cluster seeker missiles. Once the data was entered into the targeting computer, Samus let fly with her remaining ordnance. Her weapons bay opened and disgorged four cluster seeker missiles. The missiles, still attached to the main missiles, flew straight towards their targets, which were still ten kilometers away. Once they were within a kilometer or so, though, each of the missiles separated into six smaller missiles and streaked towards their designated Stiletto. As with the previous squadron of Stilettos, each of the smaller missiles was still capable of taking down a Stiletto on its own. The pilots of these Stilettos, however, were far more alert, and as such, they began to perform evasive maneuvers much sooner than the previous squadron had. Still, it would do them little good, for the missiles had been designed to take out fast, maneuverable targets, even other missiles, themselves. As such, the evasive maneuvers merely prolonged the dogfight for a few more seconds, the time it took for each missile to catch up with their target and detonate. The shields of the targeted Stilettos were instantly overwhelmed and direct damage was done to the hulls of the fighters, often directly in the engine pods. As such, each of the twenty-four targeted fighters went down, smoke trailing them as they crashed into the ground. Fortunately, though, most, if not all, of the pilots had managed to eject from their doomed craft and parachute to the ground safely. Samus made no effort to finish off the surviving pilots, leaving their fates in the hands of the Earth and Federation military forces. Killing such pilots as they were falling from the sky would be tantamount to murder in her book, though she would not have hesitated to kill them had they been Space Pirates.

Samus soon turned her ship towards the remaining twelve Stilettos. As she went to engage them, though, she her sensors displayed the arrival of a squadron of Katana-class starfighters. These fighters would prove to be more than a match for the Stilettos, so Samus decided that her skills would be needed far more on the front lines than back here. She then proceeded to fly straight towards the front lines, where the remnants of the initial attack wave was fighting a losing battle against the Earth and Federation military forces. Still, there had to have been some reinforcements, for a couple of tanks were driving towards the Capitol Building, blasting at anything that got in their way. The Federation tanks were holding their own, but Samus noticed that some of them had already lost their main weapons or were immobilized due to enemy fire. Since the tanks that Elric was using were merely Federation main battle tanks, she knew that the cannons of her gunship would be more than sufficient to take down the Watchman tanks. She zeroed in on one of the tanks and promptly opened fire, raking it with energy bolts. The bolts sliced through the armor of the tanks like a hot knife through soft butter. One of the bolts happened to puncture the tank's fuel tank, for the vehicle immediately went up in a geyser of smoke and fire. The bounty hunter then turned her attention to the other tank and unleashed a stream of energy pulses against it as well. Just as with the previous tank, this tank was also taken out of the fight. However, Samus's blasts had not punctured this tank, so instead of exploding in a magnificent display of fireworks, this one was merely reduced to a metal box with numerous holes in it.

What Samus did not immediately notice, though, was the fact that the driver of the tank was not killed in its destruction. Despite the wound in his stomach that the Nalar driver had suffered, he still found the strength to lift a sniper rifle known as a Demon Sniper Rifle. The Demon Sniper Rifle, however, was no ordinary sniper rifle. It was a weapon utilized by the Star Fox Team on occasion and a number of them had been acquired through secret deals, as well as having been bought from the Star Fox Team directly. With all of his remaining strength, he leveled his Demon Sniper Rifle towards Samus's gunship, which was headed to the Capitol Building. His peripheral vision showed that most of the fighting had died down and that his comrades were all either dead or had surrendered to the Earth forces. _He_ would never surrender, though. He knew that Samus could not be allowed to divulge the information she had obtained, whatever it was, to Earth or the rest of the Federation. To that end, he lined up a shot with Samus's gunship and fired, a single blue lance of energy erupting from the barrel of the rifle. The beam streaked at close to the speed of light towards Samus's ship. The last thing the Nalar saw was the beam piercing Samus's gunship amidships, for the rest of the Earth and Federation tanks opened fire on him, annihilating him, the remains of his tank, and his Demon Sniper Rifle.

The cabin of Samus's gunship shook violently from the Demon Sniper Rifle's hit as sparks erupted from the pilot's console. Only Samus's suit protected her from being killed by the explosion. Adam's voice soon sounded over the din, yelling, "Damage to the main fuselage! We've lost engine power, repulsors are at ten percent! We're going down!"

Samus then gripped the control stick and input a series of commands on what was left of the pilot's console. The landing gear deployed out the bottom of the ship, three wheeled struts lowering much like it would on an old Earth airplane. "Samus, what are you doing?" Adam blared. "The landing gear disrupts the aerodynamics of the ship."

"I know," Samus responded loudly. While it made her ship drop that much faster, it also would allow her ship to come to a rolling halt, rather than losing the landing pads of normal gunships or scrape off the ventral outer hull of the ship.

Her ship quickly descended to the ground, moving farther and farther away from the frigate. Samus's damaged sensors were unable to pick up two blips headed her way as the ship was falling from the sky. Her ship eventually touched down on an unoccupied road. Smoke rose from the ground as the wheels on the bottom of her gunship touched down. The tires managed to absorb most of the impact so the ship suffered little damage upon landing. The ship continued to roll as the small road ended and a dirt path began. The ride over the dirt path was noticeably bumpier than the rolling on the road, but the dirt did more to arrest the gunship's momentum and eventually, the damaged gunship came to a halt.

As soon as the ship ceased its momentum, Adam came in over the speakers once more and reported, "Power supply down to less than ten percent. Weapons are down and shields are gone. Engines have suffered catastrophic damage."

"What about the disk with the data on Elric?" Samus asked.

"It's fine," Adam replied.

Samus then leaned down and pressed a green button on her damaged console near the disk drive. The round disk was immediately ejected from the drive and Samus stuck the disk inside a small pouch that she stuck to the hip of her suit. Adam then told Samus, "Samus, I'm downloading myself to a small floating drive and projector. It should fit on your free arm. With it, you can integrate me into your suit should you need to."

"Okay," Samus responded. Adam then proceeded to download himself into the mobile drive and Samus attached him to her arm. Once that was finished, Samus opened the top hatch on her gunship. Samus then jumped out the hatch and onto the top of the gunship.

Meanwhile, near a tall, thin metal tower in New York City, Elric and the rest of the Watchmen disembarked from their transports and made their way towards the Radio Tower. The security officers standing on the perimeter of the grounds of the Radio Tower held their hands outwards and called, "Halt. Identify yourselves!"

Elric stepped forward, removing the helmet from his suit of armor, and proclaimed, "I am Elric, Chairman of the Galactic Federation. I have need of the Radio Tower at once. Stand aside and allow me to use it."

"Earth does not recognize your authority Elric," the lead security officer replied after holding up a small square sensor and scanned the Chairman. "We are under strict orders to not allow anyone access to the Radio Tower without proper authorization and a predetermined password."

A dozen Watchmen then stepped forward and leveled their assault rifles at the security officer. "Here's my authorization," Elric declared haughtily. The dozen Watchmen then opened fire on the security officer and his comrades. Energy sheathed bullets tore through the light uniforms, and the flesh, of the security officers and the officers quickly fell to the floor, numerous bullet holes marking their bodies. "And my password," Elric stated mockingly at the dead officers. While the faces of the Watchmen were hidden from view, the Watchmen were clearly smiling and even laughing at the events that had transpired. Disguised as armored Watchmen, Aglara and Aramon watched the events and grinned. They had not realized that the Watchmen were so ruthless and capable of evil. They merely thought them to be mindless servants of Elric who served whoever was in charge. These events may have proved otherwise. With that, Elric and his small army proceeded to march towards the Radio Tower. Little did he know, though, the true purpose of the help the Magic Lords were providing. They merely grinned as they were now one step closer to accomplishing their goals. Once they were finished, the heroes of Earth would be dead, even the strongest of them, along with the rest of humanity and the Pokémon of Earth. And should the Chosen Four reappear on Earth, then they would be trapped on a dead world.

On the other side of the planet, Cyrus's helicopter flew towards the Spear Pillar, on the top of Mount Coronet. Onboard the helicopter, Cyrus went over his final plans for releasing the Pokémon that he knew as Dark Arceus. As he was reading some of the layouts and plans of the Hall of Origin, the pilot began to look as if he was concentrating on something other than flying. Cyrus looked over to him and asked, "What is it?"

"Sir, I'm receiving a report from Elric. His fleet has arrived over Earth, though Earth's defenses are currently fighting off his forces. Elric, himself, though, has breached the shield and has entered the atmosphere."

"Is he coming our way?"

The pilot shook his head. "No sir. He's headed towards the Radio Tower."

Cyrus put his fingers to his chin and stroked it. _Why would Elric be going to the Radio Tower? There's nothing there for him_, Cyrus thought. He then asked, "Are any of his forces headed our way?"

The pilot shook his head. "No sir. The ships that were not headed towards the Radio Tower were headed to Washington to reinforce his decimated Watchman assault forces from their initial attack on the Capitol Building." The pilot was about to refocus his attention on getting to the Spear Pillar when he heard another message coming through over his headphones. Once the message was finished, he informed Cyrus, "Sir, Chairman Elric's forces in Washington D.C. have been annihilated and he's requesting reinforcements to help deal with the defenses of the city. In addition, he's ordering us to Washington D.C. at once. What should we do?"

"Continue on towards the Spear Pillar," Cyrus answered curtly. "I couldn't care less about Elric and his wish to conquer the galaxy if I tried. It won't even matter once we are finished at the Spear Pillar." _That's because there won't be a galaxy left to live in_, Cyrus thought darkly. The pilot then resumed paying attention to the scene ahead as he approached the Spear Pillar.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Samus made her way away from the wreck of her downed gunship, and towards the Capitol Building as quickly as she could. Elric had a massive head start on her and she knew that if he managed to secure the Radio Tower before she arrived, that it would be difficult to expose him without having to fight through his bodyguard. And the last thing Samus wanted to do was spill more blood, especially since it would be Federation troops and citizens that she would be killing. Samus soon saw the massive building off in the distance and proceeded to run towards it. The first thing she needed to do was to secure a shuttle or other fast means of transportation to get to the Radio Tower. Second, she needed to ensure that the data was both real, and that it did not fall into the wrong hands. To that end, she wished to speak with both President Richardson and Councilman Colin Williams.

As she ran towards the Capitol Building, she saw the wreckage of tanks, shuttles, transports, and fighters strewn all around the area that surrounded the Capitol Building. She figured that Elric's forces had likely launched more than one attack on the Capitol Building, either to kill the Council Members and planetary leaders that were siding with Earth, or to take direct control of Earth's defense grid; possibly, even likely, both. She began to realize just how tough a fight it was as she scanned her surroundings. She had helped take out a small army when she shot down the transports, tanks, and fighters. The destroyed force that she saw here, however, dwarfed the force that she had helped defeat on her way to the building. Along with the wreckage of the vehicles and fighters, she saw the dead bodies of many armored and unarmored soldiers. The armored soldiers wore armor of an unfamiliar type to Samus. She figured that these were members of Elric's army. She looked for signs of any Federation Army or Marine Troopers among the dead, but so far, she had found none. Also, while she found the wreckage of many Stilettos and atmospheric aircraft, she found none for the Katanas, a type of air and space fighter used primarily by Earth. While the Federation military was beginning to adopt the new starfighter, Earth was still its primary user. To Samus, it looked as if the battle had not been so much a battle, as a massacre in favor of the Earth defenders, and even without her help, they would have defeated the reinforcements that Elric had sent.

As she continued to move across the battlefield, a hovercar approached her. At first, she was on alert, knowing that there may still be stragglers from Elric's forces present. The helmets of Galactic Federation Marines sitting in the back of the car did little to ease her initial concerns, since Elric was still in charge of the Galactic Federation and could have sent down a contingent of Marines to try to deal with her. The driver, a man who looked to be in his early to mid thirties, wearing a Galactic Federation service uniform looked decent enough, though. Still, Samus cautiously raised her arm cannon and leveled it at the car, though she was careful to scan the car so that she would not hit a vital system that would result in the car's annihilation should be forced to fire on it. She then aimed at one of the non-vital areas of the car. In addition, she did not charge her beam, but that did little to comfort the driver. "Woah, Samus, wait!" the driver of the car called when she leveled her arm cannon towards the car. "We're not your enemy."

"Who sent you?" Samus called out in question.

"President Richardson," the driver answered. The two troopers soon stepped out of the car and Samus noticed that they wore Earth Marine Corps insignias on their armor. "Don't worry," he assured her. "We're the good guys. Both President Richardson and Councilman Williams are eager to see you and examine the data. Hop on in and we'll take you to them."

Samus was a little hesitant at first, but figured that if they were planning something, they would have tried something different. Two marines were not sufficient to kill her, even if they managed to get the drop on her. Besides, the marines were Earth Marines, not Federation Marines or Elric's cronies. She then decided to get into the hovercar, sitting in the rear of the car where she was joined by one of the other marines. The final marine then sat next to the hovercar's pilot in the front seat. Once she was onboard, the hovercar raced to the Capitol Building, where Samus could meet with President Richardson and Councilman Williams.

Meanwhile, onboard the Watchman shuttle, Kreatz and Mauk were flying towards New York as quickly as possible. They scanned the comm signals to find out what Elric's plans were, and just how close he was to accomplishing them. They could also help alert Earth's military forces to the plans of Elric and where he would be deploying his forces. So far, all they had heard was the crying of the Watchmen and their support as they were being slaughtered in Washington D.C. Checking on the signals in space, the ships from numerous other worlds that had shown up to assist Elric in the conquest of Earth were getting the crud kicked out of them by Earth's Planetary Defense Grid. Even with the arrival of more ships, the original one hundred starships that had arrived to assist Elric were all but completely depleted, with less than a dozen still operational. According to the reports that had come in, Elric's forces had opened fire first on the Heavy Defense Platforms and an Asgard-class heavy cruiser, resulting in the beginning of the firefight. Both Kreatz and Mauk frowned at the reports that were coming in. Even though the Earth defenders had suffered only minor casualties in the fighting, there had already been too much bloodshed, and they did not know when, or if, Elric's allies would cease the attack. So far, reports also indicated that Elric had led a force to the Radio Tower in order to capture it and keep Samus Aran from being able to use it to transmit whatever information she had found out about him. It was then that another report came in. It stated that Samus's ship had been shot down close to the Capitol Building in Washington. The faces of the shuttle pilots were aghast at the report, something that caught the attention of Captain Falcon. "What's wrong," he asked.

"Samus's gunship has been reported to have been shot down in the battle of Washington D.C.," Mauk answered.

"Any word on whether or not she survived?"

The two shook their heads and merely showed them the report that had appeared on the screen. Captain Falcon smiled reassuringly and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. More than a few people have survived the crashes of gunships. If anyone can survive such an incident, it's her."

"Yeah," Kreatz agreed with a smile of his own as hope reentered his heart. As they continued on their way, though, both Kreatz and Mauk offered a silent prayer for Samus's safety.

Inside the Capitol Building, Samus waited as Councilman Williams' tech analysts went over the data that she had given to them regarding Elric's part in the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters on Daiban, as well as in giving the Space Pirates the necessary data that allowed them to take control of Aurora Unit Zero and eventually have it destroy the planet. The trip to the building had been uneventful, though she did have to pass by numerous checkpoints and submit herself to a full bio-scan and brain scan. At the conclusion of the tests, she was shown to be the real Samus Aran and not to have been under any form of mind-control. Once that had been completed, she handed over the round disk to Councilman Williams and his tech analysts. That was approximately fifteen minutes ago.

Samus watched as they replayed the scene again and again, going over it with a fine-toothed comb. They wanted to make sure that this data was one hundred percent legitimate. Samus, too, wanted to be absolutely certain as well. Inwardly, she was conflicted on whether or not she wanted the data to turn out to be real. On one hand, she knew the potential ramifications should it prove to be true. Elric had a great deal of support from a large number of non-human races in the Galactic Federation, as was demonstrated by the large fleet that had come to Elric's aid over Earth, and was being massacred up in orbit, while most of the resistance to his election had come from the humans, and even then, it was only due to him choosing Cyrus as the Vice-Chairman, rather than the Speaker of the Council. In addition, there were still the hearings into Elric's alleged role in the production of illegal bioweapons on both the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility 777_, as well as his clone of Samus, herself. Still, she could understand the potential need for a much stronger military. She, herself, knew that the Phazon Crisis would have not been nearly as great as it was if the Federation had had a larger military. In addition, the threat posed by the Space Pirates would have been significantly reduced. That was shown during a Space Pirate raid on planet Z-1A, where even had Samus not arrived, the Federation would have still arrived to drive off the Pirates, albeit not before there had been more fatalities among the civilians and other personnel down on the planet. Samus, and bounty hunters like her, could not be everywhere at once, and she knew that she was a rarity among bounty hunters in her willingness to take jobs only for just causes, and to refuse jobs that went against her beliefs and morals. However, if Elric had, indeed, given the Space Pirates vital data on the defenses of Daiban, then he was complicit in the attack. And it would not be lost on many people that one of the few that actually ended up benefiting from the attack on Daiban was, indeed, Elric.

After a while, the data analysts rose from their terminals and went over to Samus and Councilman Williams, who was standing a few feet away from the bounty hunter. "So, what's the verdict?" the Councilman asked.

"It's legit," the lead analyst, a human male in his early thirties with red hair, answered succinctly.

Colin Williams gave a melancholy sigh. "I suspected as much," he lamented. "It actually makes sense. There was no way the Space Pirates could have gotten that much information on Galactic Federation Headquarters and its defenses, along with knowledge about Aurora Unit Zero, without inside information."

"So, what should we do?" the voice of President Richardson came in from behind the Federation Council Member.

"We need to get this information out as quickly as possible," Williams responded.

"Won't that cause mass hysteria?" Richardson asked, his eyes not hiding his surprise.

"Perhaps," Williams admitted. "But considering what the Watchmen are doing right now here on Earth, I think that the rest of the Federation needs to know what's going on."

"I agree," Samus chimed in. "With this information, Elric will be exposed as the criminal that he really is. Don't forget that before the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters and Daiban's destruction, there were hearings into the allegations of Elric having commissioned the assassination of former Chairman Keaton, and promoting the supposed assassin, Cyrus, to Vice-Chairman. And those hearing were concurrent with hearings on his part in the development of illegal bioweapons on both the _Bottle Ship_ and _Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven_. The reasons those hearings were put on hold was because of Daiban's destruction, the deaths of almost one third of the Council, and Elric having to replace the dead Council Members. Of course, he replaced them with his own supporters, who then swept this all under the rug. However, if we broadcast this data to the entire Galactic Federation, then no one will be able to deny what Elric has done, and the other hearings will be reopened."

President Richardson nodded, having been convinced by Samus's arguments. Besides, if anything could prevent an all out civil war from occurring, then the broadcasting of this data would do so. "Alright, let's do it," he said. "But you'll need to hurry. We have already had sightings of Elric's forces nearing the Radio Tower and the security forces are not going to be able to stop Elric's troops."

"I've got a supersonic hoverbus fueled and ready to go," Williams volunteered. "The only problem is that it has no weapons to speak of. If we fall under attack, we'll be in trouble. It does have a sheet of ablative armor, though, so it can hold up against a few hits assuming the enemy doesn't use missiles."

"Can't you bring a couple of fighters for backup?" Samus asked. She was not fond of the idea of the Councilman going to the Radio Tower without a fighter escort to protect his bus.

"I could," Williams responded, "but it would mean taking fighters away from the defense of Washington D.C., or the orbit of Earth. And we'll almost certainly be expected by Elric and his forces. Nothing like a couple of fighters escorting a nondescript hoverbus to draw attention to us. Secrecy is the best tool we've got right now"

Samus could not fault his logic. However, the lack of fighter support would definitely hurt them if anyone discovered the information that she and the others carried. Eventually, she said, "I'll provide defense for the hoverbus. I'll stand on top of the bus and provide defensive fire if we run into any enemy fighters or opposing forces."

"I'll keep my finger on the radio transmitter, though," Williams added. "Most of the military forces on Earth are loyal to us and not the Federation or Elric. If we run into any real trouble, we should be able to have help arrive relatively quickly."

"How quickly is 'relatively quickly'?" asked Samus.

"Within a few minutes or so," Williams responded with a shrug. "Maybe less with the whole world on alert given the situation in orbit." After a moment of contemplation, Williams then reconsidered his assessment, saying, "Actually, it may be more given the trouble in orbit and all of Earth's defenses being necessary to defend the planet."

That did not give Samus much comfort. Still, she had suspected that if anything went wrong, getting to the Radio Tower would be the hard part. The trip would last approximately twenty minutes and she knew that she would need to protect the bus for the entire trip. Samus then asked Williams, "Where is the hoverbus? We need to get to the Radio Tower as quickly as possible?"

"It's right out front," the Councilman replied.

The two then proceeded to head out the door when they were followed by President Richardson and two Secret Service guards. One of the President's aides went up to him and asked, "Mister President, may I ask what you are doing?"

"I'm going with them," Richardson responded. "I was elected leader of this planet and it is my responsibility to help deal with any threats to the planet. That's why I'm going with Samus and the Councilman. I won't just sit behind a desk while others are off fighting. Besides, my presence might cause a few enemy soldiers or fighters to hesitate in opening fire on us. Not only that, but I have the access and override codes for the Radio Tower's signal."

"Okay," the aide responded, "but be careful, sir. And take the Secret Service guards with you."

"I will, George," Richardson assured his aide.

The President then followed Samus and Councilman Williams to the hoverbus, which was parked just outside the Capitol Building. Once they got to the bus, Councilman Williams boarded the bus, sitting in the back left seat. The President then got in the right rear seat just behind the pilot and copilot. The Secret Service bodyguards of both President Richardson and Councilman Williams then boarded the bus as well. These guards, however, were dressed in the power armor of Galactic Federation Army soldiers, and Samus could see force field projectors at their waists. In addition, one of them also had a plasma cannon, just in case they ran into any tanks or fighter craft when they arrived at the Radio Tower. Samus jumped on top of the hoverbus and activated the magnetic abilities of her boots. That would allow her to stay attached to the roof of the bus while it was flying at supersonic speeds towards the Radio Tower. Once everything was ready to go, the hoverbus started its engines. A small hum echoed from the vehicle as a gust of air emerged from the undercarriage of the bus. Stray blades of grass and other matter were forced away from the bus as it began to ascend into the air. Once the hoverbus was a few hundred feet into the air, it flew straight towards New York City, accelerating to supersonic speeds.

Meanwhile, over at the Radio Tower, seven more security officers filed out the entrance to the tower, only to be mowed down by the Watchmen. However, the Watchmen did not escape the exchange unscathed. Three golden-armored Watchmen fell to the hail of energy fire that the security officers unleashed against them. Still, the writing was on the wall for the defenses of the Radio Tower. Elric emerged from behind a metal barricade and stepped towards the entrance to the Radio Tower. He grinned as he walked towards the entrance, as did the disguised Magic Lords. "Soon," Aglara said quietly and with great satisfaction as she stepped past a fallen security officer. "Soon, Earth and all of its heroes shall be killed."

"And without the Earth heroes, particularly powerful psychics, the galaxy will fall to us," Aramon finished.

Elric then led the Watchmen into the Radio Tower, calling back to the others, "Forward. Get to the top of the tower, where the transmitter is located. Once there, secure it until me and my Elite Guard enter. Then, set the transmitter so that it will transmit the signal to all televisions, radios, and receivers on the planet. If you encounter any workers or security forces inside, kill them."

"Yes sir," the other Watchmen and the mercenary soldiers that were working with him said. With that, Elric's forces entered the tower.

Elric was about to follow suit when he his communicator started to beep. He grimaced and grumbled, "Aw, great, what is it now?"

He fished pushed a button on the side of his armor and a small holographic image of a Star Elf appeared. "What?" Elric barked to the elf.

"Sir, a hoverbus containing both Councilman Colin Williams of Earth and President Richardson has left the Capitol Building and is headed straight towards your location at supersonic speeds. My latest estimates are that they should be there in less than fifteen minutes." Elric was about to close the line when the elf spoke again, "There's more, sir. Samus was stationed on top of the hoverbus. She's going with them to the Radio Tower. I suggest you take precautions, sir."

"Damn," the Chairman seethed. "With Samus, they'll easily be able to take out my forces on the ground. And with most of my fighters bogged down in combat against Earth's forces, chances are that they'll turn their attention towards me and my forces at the Radio Tower. Is there anything else?"

"No sir, that's all I have to report for now. Do I have any further orders?"

"Negative," Elric replied. "Stay there and monitor the situation and tell me of any changes."

"Understood, sir. Over and out."

After the line was cut, Elric wasted no time opening a second channel. After he had opened the channel, he bellowed, "Chairman of Defense Rickard Lorenz, do you copy? I need you!"

"I'm here," Lorenz's voice crackled in over the subspace comm. "What do you need?"

"Where are you right now?"

"I'm in the orbit of Earth, trying to fight my way down to the planet's surface, but those defense platforms and warships aren't makin' it easy," Lorenz replied.

"Are you by any chance piloting a starfighter right now?"

"Yeah," Lorenz replied. "I'm in a Stiletto-class starfighter. Why?"

"Excellent! Get down here as soon as possible," Elric ordered. "A hoverbus containing Samus, Councilman Williams, and President Richardson is on its way to New York City. It is imperative that that hoverbus not be allowed to reach the Radio Tower. Hell, make sure that none of the occupants survive, either."

The Defense Chairman responded, "I know. Don't worry, sir. I'll be down there to give Samus a real surprise."

"Good," Elric said. With that, he cut the transmission. He then activated a comm to the rest of his forces and ordered, "All troops, get out of the tower and take up defensive positions around the Radio Tower. Councilman Williams, President Richardson, and Samus Aran are coming. They are not allowed into the tower under any circumstances. My elite guards and I will clear the interior of the Radio Tower. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" they responded.

Elric grinned. Even if Samus survived her fight with Lorenz, chances were that her suit would take at least some damage in the fighting, which would give his troops on the ground a better chance at finishing her off, or at least slowing her down until he and his masters had complete control of the Radio Tower. Then, a weakened Samus would likely have to face off against his masters, who would easily be able to kill her in her current form even if she had full power, or so he believed. With that thought, Elric proceeded to enter the Radio Tower and join Aglara and Aramon as they slaughtered anyone and everyone that got in their way, friend and foe alike.

Over at the Spear Pillar, Cyrus's helicopter landed on the ground close to a set of columns that had been the location where Dialga and Palkia been summoned two years ago. The hatch to the helicopter opened and the Vice-Chairman and Team Galactic leader stepped out onto the ground. Coming over to meet him was Charon and a few other Team Galactic grunts. Unlike many Galactic grunts, though, in addition to the Poké Balls at their waist, these grunts were also armed with energy rifles and pistols. Charon approached Cyrus and told him, "Sir, we have secured the Spear Pillar. I have stationed numerous Galactic Federation Army soldiers inside of Mount Coronet, as well as at the base of said mountain with strict orders to not come out onto the pillar."

"Good," Cyrus told him. "That should keep any nosy Pokémon trainers from poking around, and it should also keep Cynthia and the other captive Pokémon trainers away, at least for a time." Cyrus then paused for a moment, another concern coming to mind, and then asked, "What about Kreatz and Mauk? Is there any sign of them coming here?"

"No," Charon answered, shaking his head. "Our scanners indicate that they are currently headed towards America, either to Washington D.C. or to New York City. There's a big concern about Samus since she's currently headed to the Radio Tower. Evidently, she has something that Elric doesn't want to get out."

Cyrus grinned. He knew exactly what Samus had that had Elric so worried. He, too, knew of the secret recording of Elric's visit with a Space Pirate Trooper and that the Chairman had given the Space Pirates information and codes that allowed them to launch their devastating attack on Daiban that had eventually claimed the planet. Cyrus was still a little concerned, though, about the potential of encountering Cynthia or one of the other trainers. "Any word on who remained on the shuttle and who departed?"

Charon nodded. "Yes sir. We have confirmed sightings of the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia, Pokémon Coordinator Dawn, Gym Leader Brock, along with Pokémon trainers Ethan and Lyra. The children of some of the defecting politicians were also dropped off, so chances are that the trainers will look after them until their parents or caretakers pick them up. However, two captives remained onboard the shuttle."

"Who?"

"Captain Douglas Jay Falcon and an intelligent ape named Donkey Kong."

Cyrus nodded. He was not concerned, despite the reputation of Captain Falcon. "Very well then. Charon, you and the others get back to work. We need all of the preparations to be completed before I can summon Dark Arceus and be able to control him.

"Right," Charon and the guards responded in unison. They then left Cyrus so as to make the final preparations and ready any defenses should any of Cyrus's enemies manage to make it past the Federation Army soldiers that were in Cyrus's employ inside the mountain. Cyrus then proceeded to make his way towards the Spear Pillar and towards a spot that his map had identified as the where the stairway to the Hall of Origin, the supposed resting place of the Legendary Pokémon Arceus, the one who was said to have created all of Sinnoh, and possibly the entire universe, would appear. However, it was not Arceus that Cyrus wanted, but a much stronger, and more evil Pokémon, Dark Arceus.

Meanwhile, the hoverbus containing Councilman Colin Williams, his guards, President Ricardson, and Samus Aran, who stood on top of the bus to provide defensive fire against any would be attackers, rocketed towards New York City at supersonic speeds. Samus activated her poor man's Scan Visor and gazed off into the distance. She strongly suspected that there would be pursuit of some sort after the bus since she was transporting information that could either end Elric's career as a politician, or split the Galactic Federation almost irreparably; possibly both. Sure enough, off in the distance, she saw the distinctive shape of a Stiletto-class starfighter approaching. This starfighter looked to have taken a hit from a weapon but its atmospheric speed was not hampered at all. Samus opened a channel to Councilman Williams and informed him of the approaching fighter, saying, "Councilman, Mister President, I've detected an approaching Stiletto-class starfighter. Is it one of yours or a part of the Earth military?"

She tensed up as she awaited the Councilman's reply. After a few seconds, Colin Williams answered, "No, it's not one of ours. I just told President Richardson and he said that he's unaware of any further escorts coming our way. All of our fighters are still up in orbit or flying holding patterns over vital sites down here on Earth. I'm opening a channel to the fighter to ask its identity."

Samus focused on the Stiletto as it rapidly approached the hoverbus. Samus noticed that it was not flying in a pattern that indicated it was flying escort or cover, just the opposite. It looked like it was lining up a shot for its energy cannons. "Williams, go evasive!" the bounty hunter shouted suddenly. Just as the bus banked to the left, a volley of scarlet energy pulses were unleashed upon the bus, piercing the space the bus had occupied mere moments before. Samus scanned the fighter with her suit's makeshift Scan Visor and found that, indeed, the fighter had sustained damage from an earlier battle. She figured that it had been damaged trying to fight its way into Earth's atmosphere. Still, despite its damage, Samus knew that her suit's beams were not going to be all that effective in shooting down a Stiletto-class starfighter. Still, a lucky shot could possibly manage to take off the energy cannons, effectively rendering the fighter impotent. To that end, Samus opened fire on the fighter, spraying it with green energy pulses. The pulses glanced off the metallic hull of the fighter, merely scratching the paint of the fighter. The fighter returned fire, scarlet balls of energy streaking over Samus's head as the fighter tried to land a shot on the hoverbus, which was doing its best to avoid the energy fire.

Samus continued to spray fire towards the attacking Stiletto, but met with little success. The fighter was too heavily armored for her cannon to be able to damage it, and the evasive maneuvers were throwing off Samus's aim. Still, she continued to fire and hope that a lucky shot managed to take out one of the fighter's cannons. Samus saw one of her beams score a hit on the cannon, but the damage was only superficial. She was puzzled as to why her suit's stacked Plasma Beam would be so ineffective against the fighter's energy cannon, which was not all that durable in and of itself. She felt as if her hit should have at the very least been able to inflict more damage than it did. She then switched to her Ice Missiles and prepared to fire on the fighter when another volley of energy fire from the fighter flashed past Samus, with one of the pulses managing to score a direct hit on her suit, taking off two Energy Tanks with the hit. Samus was thrown through the air and landed several feet away by her hit as the second energy pulse that had accompanied the first managed to score a hit against the hoverbus. The pulse of energy managed to burn its way through the metal hull of the bus and plow its way through the vehicle, in one end and out the other. Smoke rose from the hole and the bus shook. Fortunately, there were no secondary explosions and the bus did not list downwards or lose too much speed. So far, it was likely that the bus would manage to make it to the Radio Tower, assuming the bus did not suffer any further damage.

Samus rose from her landing spot and zeroed back in on the Stiletto. She locked onto it with her missile launcher and fired a volley of Ice Missiles towards the fighter. The missiles streaked towards the fighter, which made no attempt to dodge. The missiles scored direct hits on the fighter, but a blue field of energy appeared each time a missile struck. As Samus had known, the fighter had been protected by energy shields. She checked her HUD to see how much damage her missiles had done to the shields. She frowned when she saw that the missiles had inflicted next to no damage to the shields. _Darn_, she thought. _Normal missiles would have a greater effect than this_. She then switched back to her stacked Plasma Beam, knowing that the phasing effects of the Wave Beam would be more effective if she managed to score a lucky hit.

She focused on the fighter and grimaced as it came around for another pass. She knew that she was outmatched and that she was likely not going to be able to stop the enemy fighter from taking them down, but that did not stop her from giving her every effort in the attempt to try. Once more, she sprayed energy fire against the fighter. Just as before, the energy glanced off of the metal of the fighter, but this time, something was different. One of the blasts sailed through the cockpit and seemed to strike something behind it. Samus's eyes lit up at the sight as the fighter immediately banked away from the hoverbus. Samus surmised that the phasing effect of the Wave Beam must have penetrated the cockpit window. She hoped that the pilot had been taken out by that energy blast, but her hopes were soon dashed as the fighter came at her once more.

Again, the fighter fired on the bus, and again, the bus performed a series of intricate evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid the incoming fire. Samus did her best to try to fire on the cockpit of the fighter, but each of her next shots went wide, glancing off the wings and the armor surrounding the cockpit of the fighter. After a few moments, the bus leveled off, giving Samus an easier shot at the cockpit of the fighter. While the fighter also had an easier shot at the shuttle, Samus wasted no time going after the fighter, making certain to make her shots count. She targeted the cockpit and let fly with a volley of green stacked plasma shots. Several of the shots merely glanced off of the armor of the cockpit, but a couple of the blasts managed to strike the cockpit canopy and phase through the glass. Even worse, for the pilot, was the fact that both shots scored direct hits on him. The fighter pilot's head and upper torso was completely disintegrated by Samus's plasma shot. The second shot took off the pilot's legs, though that was of little consequence as the pilot was already dead. As the pilot slumped in his seat, the fighter immediately began a climb and began to fly straight up, and would not stop its climb until it escaped the atmosphere, and continue out into space until it either struck another fighter, starship, crashed into a planet, asteroid, or star.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Inside the Radio Tower, Elric and his Magic Lord masters laid waste to anyone and everyone who stood in their way. A security officer stood in front of them, firing scarlet pulses of energy from his rifle, only to have the pulses blocked by the two adolescent Magic Lords. The two then ruthlessly cut the security officer to pieces. Once the pieces of the officer fell to the floor, Elric heard Aglara quip, "Well, that's all of 'em." Elric took that to mean that they had killed the last of the security officers. The two Magic Lords continued towards a stairwell that would take them to the top of the tower. Elric prepared to follow them when he his comm unit beeped. He pressed a button on his wristwatch and the image of one of his golden-armored Watchman soldiers appeared.

"Sir, we've just received word that Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz, has been killed," the Watchman reported.

"What?" Elric blurted in surprise. "How?"

"According to the last report before we lost contact with him, the only possible way he could have been killed was by Samus Aran since he was already engaging the bus in a firefight."

"Samus killed him? In a starfighter?" he gasped. The Federation Chairman could hardly believe what he had heard. Rickard had been piloting a Stiletto-class starfighter that should have been armed with missiles. The armor alone was enough to shrug off all of the weapons fire from Samus's suit, to say nothing of the fighter's shields. Maybe normal missiles or Super Missiles would have been effective, as would have the electrical Wave Beam, but Samus had none of those. Her suit was a mere shell of what it had once been. He then began to realize that there was another possibility. Samus's current stacked Plasma Beam had the added effects of the phasing Wave Beam, which allowed her beams to phase through certain materials and shields. One of the materials that it could phase through was glass and other transparent materials. He then realized that that was what she had to have used to kill Lorenz. He grimaced at the loss of not only another starfighter, but also his Chairman of Defense. It would be another position that he would have to fill, which would only bring down more scrutiny on him from the rest of the Council. While he did have his supporters on the Council, his attack on Earth might have driven away some of his supporters, especially since his attack had been a disaster and it looked like most of his fleet was now destroyed. With these dark thoughts, he followed after his masters, hoping that they would be able to turn things around, somehow, before things really did get out of control.

Meanwhile, on Spear Pillar on the peak of Mount Coronet, Cyrus proceeded to make his way towards the Hall of Origin. He absently had his hands in his pocket, fingering the Azure Flute that he would use in order to call Dark Arceus to the world and use the Red Chain to control him and have him destroy the universe and make a new universe, one where _he_ was in charge. He glanced back at his lieutenant, Charon and told him, "Remain here. Have the others make sure that there are no intruders. I cannot afford to be interrupted right now."

"Understood," Charon replied.

Cyrus then gave a grin as he turned around and took out the Azure Flute. The Azure Flute more closely resembled an ocarina with four several tubes with holes at the end of them, plus a red mouthpiece at the end of the instrument. Cyrus then blew into the flute and several notes echoed from the flute. The soft tone of the song that Cyrus played echoed across the wind. Charon and two grunts looked on as Cyrus played, tears coming to the grunts' eyes. Charon, however, seemed to be unaffected by the song that Cyrus was playing. Eventually, the song ended and the Vice-Chairman took a step back. A strange series of musical notes from an alien sounding instrument sounded and an energy outline formed stretching from the ground out into the sky. Soon, a series of clear energy-based steps filled the outline. Cyrus did not even look back at his subordinates as he stepped onto the first step. He continued to climb the stairway into the sky, not looking back at all. After climbing for what seemed like an eternity, he eventually reached the top of the stairway.

Once he reached the top of the stairway, he found what looked to be a glass-like platform. At the end of the platform, a dark, swirling vortex of energy stared back at him. He stared into the vortex and could feel the presence on the other side of the vortex stare back at him. As he approached, he saw a flash of purple form on the other side of the vortex. Cyrus retreated a few steps as a purple ball of energy erupted from the vortex and landed a few feet in front of the leader of Team Galactic and Vice-Chairman of the Galactic Federation. Cyrus stared in amazement as a figure emerged from the vortex. Emerging from the vortex was what looked to be the Pokémon, Arceus. However, upon fully emerging from the portal, it was clear to Cyrus that this Pokémon was not Arceus at all. While it still had the centaur-like body of Arceus, body was black with a gray underside, as opposed to Arceus's white body and gray underside. Its face was gray with red eyes and black pupils. In addition, this creature had a black cross-like wheel, which was attached to its body by its round abdomen. Both this wheel, along with the creatures eyes and hooves were black, indicating that this creature was a Dark type Pokémon. Despite the Pokémon's similarity to Arceus in appearance, one would have known right away that this Pokémon was by no means, Arceus. Instead, it was more similar to Arceus's opposite; and his evil opposite at that. Cyrus could sense the malice and intense hatred for the universe that came from this Pokémon.

"Dark Arceus," Cyrus stated plainly, staring up into the Pokémon's eyes.

"Cyrus," the dark creature responded with a masculine voice, his lips not moving at all. The Pokémon's voice echoed through Cyrus's mind as he spoke. "I remember you. You were the one who came to the Distortion World after being beaten by that Pokémon Trainer over two years ago."

Cyrus took off his backpack and pulled out the Red Chain and prepared to use it against Dark Arceus. Before using the Chain, though, Cyrus made one plea to the Pokémon, saying, "Dark Arceus, I must thank you for coming."

"I should be thanking _you_," the Pokémon interrupted in a sinister tone. "Without you having played your Azure Flute, I would not have access to your world. As it is, though, I know why you summoned me and not my more benevolent counterpart."

"Then you know my wish," Cyrus proclaimed boldly. "End this flawed universe of emotion and hope and create a new universe for me: one without these flawed concepts of emotion, love, hatred, anger, sadness, happiness, and joy! Create a new universe without spirit!"

"Why should I do as you ask?" the dark Pokémon asked haughtily as he took several steps towards Cyrus, forcing the Vice-Chairman to take a few steps backwards.

Cyrus, however, was not caught off guard. He had expected Dark Arceus to refuse him and had taken precautions against this. He readied the Red Chain and let it fly into the air. The chain formed a ring of red crystals and under Cyrus's direction split and launched itself at Dark Arceus. The dark Pokémon did nothing to avoid the chain and let it wrap itself around him. Cyrus gave a satisfied smile as the Red Chain wrapped itself around Dark Arceus and the Pokémon remained still, not taking any action. "Now Dark Arceus; fulfill my desires and create for me a new universe out of the old!"

"Why not just let me destroy this one and _not_ create a new one," Dark Arceus countered in an evil tone.

Cyrus's eyes went wide with shock at Dark Arceus's statement. Dark Arceus then smiled and flexed his muscles. The Red Chain then shattered into thousands of fragments, which then proceeded to burst into an unnatural purple flame while still flying in the air. Before any of the shards managed to strike the ground, the purple flames consumed them. "Did you really think that such a device would allow you to control a creature like me? Now, die with this universe!"

A large ball of purple energy formed in the mouth of Dark Arceus. Once it had grown to the size of a small boulder, the evil Pokémon launched the ball of energy into the air. As the ball was rising, Cyrus fled down the stairwell and back towards Spear Pillar as the dark vortex grew in size until it was larger than the size of the peak of Mount Coronet. Once Dark Arceus's attack had risen a few dozen feet into the air, it split into a dozen large purple meteors, which bore down upon Cyrus and the planet. The sensors that the grunts had been using in order to detect energy signatures had been blown out when trying to measure the power of Dark Arceus's attack. "Now die with Final Judgment!" Dark Arceus cried.

As the attack was about to strike the planet, a second attack came from nowhere and intercepted Dark Arceus's attack. The attack appeared to be a series of blue psychic energy bolts which intercepted the meteors of Dark Arceus's Judgment attack and deflected them back through the portal. A second later, a massive light emerged from the center of the portal and the ground shook as lightning sparked from the portal. After a minute or so, the ground stopped shaking and the portal seemed to stabilize. During this time, though, a fraction of a second after the meteors of Final Judgment had been deflected into the portal, a blue swirling sphere of energy streaked towards Dark Arceus and struck the dark Pokémon in the head and exploded. The dark Pokémon recoiled from the attack and was forced back a few steps, having sustained damage from the attack. The fact that he had felt pain for the first time in his life shocked him. Dark Arceus looked up into the sky and found a humanoid feline-like Pokémon floating in the air. This unknown Pokémon had a gray body with a purple underside with a long purple tail. It also had two arms with paws with three digits on each paw. It also had blue glowing eyes and two small ears on the top of its head. The unknown Pokémon stared down at Arceus and a masculine voice echoed, "Arceus?" as if he were questioning whether or not his opponent was the legendary creator Pokémon. "No, it can't be," he concluded, after studying Dark Arceus further. "Arceus has white fur, and this one has black. And besides, I sense a great amount of evil coming from this one."

Dark Arceus stared up at the unknown Pokémon and called out in a haughty voice, "Who are you to dare to attack me?"

"I am Mewtwo," the unknown humanoid cat-like Pokémon replied. "And I will protect this world with my life if that is what it takes."

Dark Arceus then grinned, "Then your life it shall be. And you'll still fail to protect your precious world."

Mewtwo merely gave a growl as he assumed a fighter's stance. Cyrus and the others could only look on as they knew that the battle for the Earth, and possibly the universe, was about to begin. Still, plans were already being formulated by Cyrus, for he knew that whoever won this battle would undoubtedly be a hindrance to his plans, especially if the winner was Mewtwo.

Back in America, the hoverbus containing Samus Aran and Councilman Colin Williams and his guards rocketed towards the Radio Tower. So far, besides the single Stiletto that had come for them, there had been no further attacks on the bus. The bus's sensors indicated that it was coming up on the Radio Tower and Councilman Williams alerted Samus, "We're coming up on the tower. Get ready. We may have some stiff competition for reaching the Radio Tower."

"I copy," Samus answered. She looked off into the distance and could see the large spire of the Radio Tower coming into view. As the bus got closer, the tower grew in size. She looked down at the grassy areas and roads surrounding the tower and saw what looked to be several tanks and figures stationed around the tower. She then steeled herself for the upcoming battle whose outcome would have huge ramifications for the entire Galactic Federation.

Inside the Radio Tower, the metal door to the control room of the tower swung open and the two Magic Lords, dressed in Watchman power armor, and Elric barged in. Two officers that were sitting at consoles and computers stood up at the sound and were promptly shot to pieces by Elric and his "Elite Guard." Elric's voice soon echoed throughout the control room as he proclaimed, "The Radio Tower is now under the direct control of the Galactic Federation, in other words, me. You must all leave the control room, and the tower, now! If you do not, well, you know the consequences." He then pointed down to the two operators that had been killed by him and the Magic Lords.

The operators at the consoles then rose and quickly filed out of the control room. Aglara and Aramon stepped aside and let them pass unmolested. Aramon gazed longingly at the human filing past him, hoping that they would try something that would justify him killing them. Aglara, however, glared at him and subtly shook her head. She did not want to risk blowing it and getting Elric killed…not yet. They still had a use for him. After the operators had filed out of the room, they closed the door and began to chant in their native language. They chanted for at least half a minute before they rejoined Elric. Once they got to him, they removed their helmets and focused their gaze on the Star Elf. With sadistic grins on their faces, they told him, "Now it's time for you to play your part. Open a channel to all Galactic Federation worlds."

Elric's eyes went wide. "All Federation worlds? I thought that we were only going to…"

"Do it!" Aglara roared. "All of humanity must die, not only the humans on Earth. They are the only known high potential psychic race still alive, aside from the ascended Chozo and the Luminoth, who are a critically endangered species. "Humans also breed like the trees of the forest. We have an opportunity to wipe them _all_ out in one fell swoop. We will not waste it. Now, set up the Radio Tower to transmit out signal to the rest of the galaxy. The Song of Death must be carried to all humans across the galaxy."

"But that won't deal with the non-human Chosen Heroes, or humans that are in other dimensions, will it?" Elric asked.

Aglara smiled. "Any and all sentient lifeforms connected to Earth will be killed: human, Pokémon, and Cetacean."

"What about species that were engineered by you that used human DNA as a template?" Elric asked in a worried tone. He knew that as a slave of the Magic Lords, they basically viewed him and his people as expendable."

"This song will not affect any species that has a connection to the Elvanheim. You will be safe," Aglara told him. "But don't get too comfortable, Chairman slave. We have another song that can wipe out all of our created species in one fell swoop."

"I understand," Elric stammered quickly, bowing before his masters. "It shall be done as you ask." The Chairman then proceeded to make his way to one of the consoles and told the Magic Lords, "You must understand that it will take me a few minutes to get everything ready, and even after that, it will take a minute or two to open a channel to _all_ Federation worlds and stations, but once we're ready to go, all you'll have to do is sing into the microphone and face the camera. I know how magic works and it often requires both sight and sound, so there's still a chance that…"

"We know how our Song of Death works idiot!" Aramon snapped. "Just do as you're told!"

"Yes, master," Elric replied once more. He then went to work preparing the transmitter so the Magic Lords could broadcast their Song of Death to the entire Galactic Federation, and wipe out all of the humans of Milky Way galaxy. As he was doing so, he could not help but feel as if he was nothing more than a pawn that could easily be disposed of…and that his masters were about to dispose of him once his usefulness came to an end.

The hoverbus sped towards the Radio Tower at top speed. Peering down from the roof of the bus, Samus saw the faint outlines of the troopers that were standing guard outside the tower. The hoverbus decelerated as it approached the tower. Samus focused on the tanks, since they were the primary threats of the defending forces. While they were too far out of range for her Scan Visor to be able to get an accurate reading, she suspected that they were likely shielded, or at the very least, heavily armored. She suspected that it would take more than a single shot from her stacked Charged Plasma Beam to take them out. As such, the greatest asset of the hoverbus would be the fact that it was flying at a fast pace. She opened a channel to Colin Williams and told him, "We've got tanks down there. My guess is that they're likely shielded so it will take more than one shot for me to either destroy or disable them. I think that it would be best if we just made a dash for the Radio Tower and you drop me off, hopefully as close to the control room as possible."

"I see them, Samus, but I don't like our chances of making it to the ground undetected, and intact," Williams responded.

"We could land on the landing platform on the far side of the tower," the pilot suggested to the Councilman.

Williams then told Samus, "Samus, check the landing platform once we swing around to the far side of the tower. I need to know if there are any guards there, and if there are, you have to take them out."

"Understood, sir," Samus responded.

The hoverbus then flew towards the Radio Tower at top speed. Several tanks swiveled their turrets and elevated them so that they were aiming at the approaching hoverbus. The tank squadron commander quickly opened a channel to Elric and called, "Sir, an unauthorized hoverbus has entered Radio Tower airspace. Requesting instructions."

Inside the Radio Tower, Elric heard his comm line crackle as the tank squadron commander informed him of the approaching hoverbus. Elric, who was sitting at one of the consoles, preparing everything for the Magic Lords, stopped what he was doing, looked up and over towards his two masters. "What the hell are you doing?" Aramon roared. "Get back to work!"

"The tank squadron has informed me of an unauthorized hoverbus that has entered Radio Tower airspace and is requesting instructions," Elric told them.

"Then tell him to kill it!" Aramon snapped.

"But hoverbusses are common civilian vehicles. If my men order their deaths, that will draw attention to us," Elric argued. He felt no compassion for anyone who may have been inside that hoverbus, but he did not want the rest of the Earth's military to look away from his fleet and focus on him. "I need to know if we should be concerned about this particular hoverbus."

Aramon growled and turned his head away seemingly sulking, but Aglara then stepped away for a moment and her eyes glowed a deep green. Only a second later, they returned to normal and she told Elric, "Tell the tank squadron to destroy that hoverbus, and tell the troops inside the building to intercept and kill anyone who comes out of that bus."

"Who's on it?" the Chairman asked, fearing the worst.

"Samus Aran," Aglara responded. "One of the Chosen Heroes. She is also accompanied by Councilman Colin Williams, President Richardson and some Secret Service guards. This will be your best chance to take out everyone who hates you," she quipped.

Elric, however, gasped at the information. This was the worst news that he could have received. Samus, and likely Colin Williams and President Richardson, knew all of his dirty secrets and dealings with the Space Pirates, as well as him giving the Space Pirates the information necessary to attack Galactic Federation Headquarters, and even indirectly allowing them to destroy Daiban. If that information ever got out, then he was doomed. There would be no way for his position to allow him to be secure. The Federation Council would be forced by their constituents to call for a vote of no confidence, or outright impeach him, and he would likely be convicted. Even with all of his supporters on the Council, if this ever came to light, there was no way that they would, or could, support him. And if they did still support him, then their own constituencies would call for votes of no confidence in them, if not go straight for recall elections and vote in people who would oust him. And that was if someone did not merely assassinate him first, since he would not likely have any loyal Secret Service members there to protect him from any potential assassins, the outrage over the destruction of Daiban, and the deaths of over nineteen billion people, was too great. He then spoke into his communicator, "Commander, destroy that hoverbus at all costs! Don't let it get to the tower! I repeat, destroy it!"

"Understood, sir," the tank squadron commander responded.

Outside, Samus could see the barrels of the tanks begin to glow, as well as the troopers outside the tanks begin to take aim at the bus. "Go evasive!" Samus called out in warning to the pilot, as she steeled herself to prevent herself from falling off of the bus as it performed a series of evasive maneuvers. The bus swerved to the right, since the landing pad was on the right rear side of the building by the bus's perspective. A torrent of energy flooded the space that the hoverbus had occupied seconds earlier. Samus then charged her Plasma Beam and decided that it would be best to take a shot at one of the tanks, if for nothing else than to give them something to think about. Once her beam was charged, she unleashed it at the closest tank. The green energy pulse erupted from her cannon and struck the enemy tank in less than a second. The plasma blast struck the tank in the cannon and proceeded to burn its way through the cannon and snap off the barrel of the tank cannon. She noticed one of the occupants bail out of the tank as smoke rose from the destroyed cannon, and a hole was gouged into the tank. The other tanks stopped firing for second and tried to get some new firing solutions, but the hoverbus flew out of their optimal firing range against enemy aircraft and was quickly approaching the landing pad on the side of the Radio Tower.

As the bus was approaching the landing pad, Samus spotted what looked to be a window in a far corner. "She told Councilman Williams and his guards, "I see a glass window. I'm going to enter there and hopefully get close to the control room of the tower."

"Good luck, Samus," Councilman Williams told her. "We'll be up to help you out as quickly as possible."

With that, Samus proceeded to run towards the edge of the bus facing the window a jumped, somersaulting through the air, and proceeding to Screw Attack towards the window.

Meanwhile, inside the Radio Tower, Elric finished making the final preparations for his masters. He finished typing in the final commands into the main control console and sat back in the chair. Once he sat back, he waited for various screens to light up in the control room. One by one, each of the screens began to light up and the room became even brighter. Eventually, all of the screens were lit and Elric stood up and told the Magic Lords, "It's your show, masters."

Aglara and Aramon both grinned as they stepped towards the main transmitter console. Elric had set the microphone on the table before them and had turned it up to its highest sensitivity. It would have even been able to pick them up if they were whispering. Elric then focused the cameras on the two Elvanheim and gave them a thumbs up. Once he had given them the signal that everything was ready to go, they began to sing:

_The time has come,_

_Your day is done._

_Now go to your eternal rest._

_There is no hope,_

_Your end is nigh._

_Go to sleep and let death take you…_

But before they could end the song with, "Die," the window closest to the transmitter console shattered and flew inward, pelting not only Elric, but also Aglara and Aramon with shards of glass. The racket of the glass shattering drowned out the final word of the Magic Lords' Song of Death, rendering it useless, and thus, they had to start over from the beginning. Again, they began to sing:

_The time has come,_

_Your day is done…_

They were unable to even get to the final line of the first verse before Samus barreled into Aramon, knocking him into Aglara, and knocking both of them away from the microphone. Elric shot up upon seeing both of the Magic Lords fall to the floor and glanced over towards them. They quickly rose and yelled at him, "Kill the intruder!"

He looked to the left of the Magic Lords and saw Samus pointing her arm cannon at them. "Samus!" he gasped, almost in shock.

Samus did not pay Elric any heed, only focusing her attention on the two unknown figures standing before her. "Who are you?" she demanded, figuring that the two were allies of Elric. She turned to the Radio Tower's transmitter console and saw that the transmitter was already active. Not only was it active, but it had also opened a transmitter to the rest of the Galactic Federation. "And what are you doing here?" the bounty hunter added.

"Destroying a great threat to our plans," Aglara responded cryptically, with a grin.

"Yeah," Aramon echoed. "We're gonna kill all humans in the Milky Way and negate your potential threat in the future?" Aglara scowled at Aramon. She had not wanted her plans to be revealed to the rest of the galaxy. If anything, the fact that the channel was open now alerted the rest of the galaxy to their plans, as well as Elric's complicity in those plans.

"By singing a song?" Samus asked, skeptical of the fact that a song could kill everyone. The fact that they had been singing a song to kill everyone did not cause Samus to lower her guard, though. If anything, it caused her to put herself more on guard now, since they had to have been using magic in order to utilize a song that could kill all of humanity in the Milky Way galaxy.

"For a warrior wearing what looks to be Chozo Armor, you certainly don't know your history very well," Aglara mocked in a haughty tone.

"Again, I ask, who are you?"

"They're Magic Lords," Elric answered from across the room. He was holding a pistol that looked like the Chozo Technology Disruptor pistol she had used to disable MB before finally destroying her on _Research Facility 777_. Samus's eyes went wide in surprise as she turned back to the two figures who were grinning at her.

"And you're helping them to destroy all of humanity?" Samus asked, barely able to contain her shock and anger.

"You act as if it's a surprise that I would sell my soul to them," Elric said casually. "After all, I _did_ give the Space Pirates the information they needed in order to attack GFHQ. Granted they went a little far, but hey, Daiban's destruction has done wonders for me. Now, the Magic Lords come to me once more, revealing themselves again. And who am I to say no? After all, I _am_ one of their own creations."

"Their creations?"

Elric nodded. "Yes. The Star Elves are creations of the Magic Lords. And not only my people: but the Simians, the Cat-people, many of the Lizard and Reptilian species as well. In fact, many of the species that exist in the Milky Way galaxy are creations of the Magic Lords. Humans, the Urtragians, the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren, Ylla, Phyrigisians, Krikens, Jovians, Vhozon, and the others are all the exception, rather than the norm. Yes, many of the non-human species in the Galactic Federation, especially those that are near human in appearance, are actually the creations of my masters."

"But why are you doing this?" Samus asked, sounding as if she were trying to grasp her mind around Elric's desires. What she was really doing, though, was trying to get Elric to state that everything he had done was for power. And Elric did not disappoint.

"I did it all for power!" Elric proclaimed. "My masters have promised me that with the fall of humanity, I will have dominion over the entire Galactic Federation. My worlds and those I choose will be free from becoming hunting grounds. The others can just go to hell, for all I care."

Samus would have grinned, for she now had all of the information that she needed to have Elric thrown in jail, if not shot on sight. She did not even need to provide the data that she had gathered from the _Research Station Moreau_. Elric was, in essence, doing her job for her. Now, all she had to do was deal with his masters, the two adolescent Magic Lords standing in front of her, glaring both at her and at Elric. It was then that Elric realized his mistake and looked aghast. "Oh no," he stammered, glancing over at the console and seeing that the cameras and speakers were still on. He had just admitted to the entire galaxy that not only had he given the Space Pirates the information they had needed to launch their attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters, but also assisting in an attack that, if successful, would have wiped out practically all of humanity. His political career was over, and it was likely that he would not survive the week, assuming he even made it past this day. His only hope was that he had done a good job of driving a wedge between the humans and the rest of the Galactic Federation. And even then, the humans still had powerful allies in the form of the Luminoth, the Chozo Remnant, and the Ascended Chozo. There was no way that this would end well for him and his allies. As such, Elric had nothing left to lose. He removed his golden armor, revealing a much more streamlined and less bulky suit of black armor with gold lines similar to a prototype armor suit that the bounty hunter Sylux had stolen years ago.

Elric began the battle by pointing his Shock Coil towards Samus and firing. A stream of neutrinos, which strongly resembled an electrical current, lashed out at Samus and she immediately fled from Elric, hoping to break the connection between herself and Elric. As she ran to break the connection, Elric glanced back towards the adolescent Magic Lords and yelled, "Sing the song once more! The connection's still good!"

The Magic Lords wasted no time beginning their song once more. Upon hearing the Magic Lords begin to sing, Samus proceeded to fire on the two Magic Lords. While she scored a direct hit on them with her charged Plasma Beam, it seemingly did nothing to the two youths. Samus backed up a step, grimacing. This was bad. Elric with a suit of Shock Coil Armor was bad enough. Having to deal with two Magic Lords that were trying to wipe out all of humanity was far worse, and that was before seeing that her weapons had little to no effect on them. She heard the sounds of energy fire echo from beyond the door. Colin Williams, President Richardson, and his Secret Service guards were fighting their way to the control room. Samus knew that there was little chance of her managing to kill the Magic Lords before they finished their song, so she did the best thing she could. She let out a blood-curdling scream, hoping to drown out the noise of the Magic Lords' singing. As she was screaming, ran around the room, charging up her Speed Booster. As she was charging up her Speed Booster, she subtly dropped the disk containing the data on Elric and his dealings with the Space Pirates before the destruction of Daiban. Once she had built up the necessary charge and a field of energy surrounded her suit she immediately launched herself towards the Magic Lords, and Elric, who was positioned in between Samus and his masters, at supersonic speeds, a sonic blast emanating as she flew into her enemies. She plowed into Elric and took him with her as she barreled into Aramon and Aglara as they were continuing her song. The momentum of her Shinespark carried her and her quarry outside the window that she had shattered in her entrance. The whole group then fell to the ground, Samus stopping her yell once they were all safely away from the transmitter.

Just as she had knocked Elric and the Magic Lords outside the tower, Councilman Colin Williams, his guards, and President Richardson broke down the door to the control room and entered. As they made their way into the room, they clearly saw the signs of a struggle, but there was no sign of Samus and Elric. They did, however, notice the disk that Samus had been carrying lying on the ground. Colin Williams went over to the disk, reached down, and picked it up. He then went over to the nearest player and inserted the disk just to make sure that the data was uncorrupted, and that this was the real disk and not a blank disk or something else. He watched the recording and found that it was, indeed, the data that Samus had gathered about Elric and his dealings. He gave a scowl as he watched the recording; his hatred for Elric never having been so great than it was now. Despite what he saw, a part of him did not want to reveal this data, and would have felt even more strongly against revealing the data had he known what Elric had said during the skirmish in the control room before he and his men had entered. Still, he felt as if he had a responsibility to reveal the truth about Elric. As such, he put the disk in the main player and broadcast the recording across the entire Galactic Federation.

Meanwhile, outside the Radio Tower, Samus gracefully landed on her feet after the long fall, as did the Magic Lords. Elric, however, was not as fortunate. While the shock absorbing systems of his suit did allow him to survive the fall, his armor was of an inferior design to the armor that had been worn by Sylux, and even less capable than the armor worn by Commander General Leroy Cutter in his battle against Clone Samus. As Elric struck the ground headfirst, the sickening crunch of bones was heard. Even though he had been wearing a helmet, his suit was ill suited to sustain a fall from several stories. As such, upon striking the ground, his skull was broken in numerous areas. His vision blurred as he tried to rise and found himself unable to do so. He watched as Samus began fighting his masters, firing a Charged Plasma Beam blast at Aramon, only to have Aramon laugh off the beam as it struck his chest. He tried to move his arms so he could unleash the power of his Shock Coil upon Samus but they would not budge. He soon realized that his neck was broken as well. He could only move his head around. He then saw Aramon release a blast of energy towards Samus. The blast moved quickly from Elric's perspective, but was relatively slow by Samus's. She dodged the energy blast, which resembled a burst of plasma, with ease. Unfortunately for Elric, Samus's dodging the blast of energy allowed it to sail directly towards him. He was struck in the abdomen, the blast of energy practically disintegrating his lower abdomen and legs, but did not cause him any pain due to his paralysis. However, his vision began to blur even more as he felt his heart slowing down. A whirlwind of thoughts and regrets immediately entered Elric's mind as he realized that he was dying. Everything that he had done for his masters was for naught. The attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters by the Space Pirates that had given him the opportunity to take over the Federation was now meaningless. Even if Aglara and Aramon did manage to kill Samus and kill all of humanity, something that was looking less and less likely at the moment, it would not matter to him. He would be dead. He soon saw some of his soldiers approaching him to help, but it was too late. He faintly heard the voice of one of his troopers call to him, yelling, "Chairman Elric, are you alright?"

_What do you think, moron_, he wanted to respond, but all he was able to manage was a groan. He then glared at Samus as she continued to fight with the Magic Lords. She was unable to inflict any damage with her beam weapons on them, but it seemed as if she was still able to hold her own against them, for they had yet to inflict any damage to her. However, they may have just been toying with her to see what the latest Chozo technology was capable of in the hands of a mere human. Elric glared at Samus as she crossed his vision once more and all of his malice and hatred towards her came boiling up to the surface. He blamed her for everything that had happened to him in the last year. Had it not been for her, he would not be in this position. He would not have been indicted on the assassination of former Chairman Keaton and on having had a hand in the development of an illegal bioweapons program. He would be in charge of the Federation and have been able to engineer his full rise to power and be able to fully maintain it, creating the first Galactic Empire. But now, those dreams were just fantasies. Here he was, laying on the ground about to die, and there was nothing he could do, except order the death of the one that was responsible for it all. To that end, he mustered all of his strength and hatred and croaked, "Kill…Samus." With that last order, he died.

His soldiers looked down at the ground and replied, "It shall be done, my lord." They then proceeded to aim towards Samus, but before they could open fire, Samus, sensing that something was wrong quickly turned and saw them targeting her. She unleashed a charged Plasma Beam blast towards the lead soldier, the blast striking him in the chest. The blast burned through the soldier's chest and most of it was missing as he fell over onto the ground, dead. Samus did not stop to admire her handiwork as she continued to fire uncharged blasts at several of the soldiers that had been flanking Elric. Six more soldiers fell to Samus's shots, prompting the others to flee the scene. However, as they fled, they took one last look at the body of their Commander-in-Chief, the one who had granted them their power, and at the one they knew had killed him. They vowed revenge against Samus as they fled the scene of the battle, knowing full well that one day, they would get their chance to avenge their fallen leader.

Back at the fight between Samus and the Magic Lords, Samus, seeing that her beam weapons were of little use and that Ice Missiles would be little better, decided to try a new tactic and curled into her Morph Ball mode. She then proceeded to roll straight towards the two figures. The two elf-like figures did nothing to evade her, for they knew that she was unable to harm them in Morph Ball mode. As she approached, Samus readied a Power Bomb, knowing that her normal Morph Ball Bombs would be woefully insufficient to deal any damage to them. Once she had rolled in between them, she dropped the Power Bomb. A round, blue sphere was dropped in between the two magicians and Samus then proceeded to roll away from them. Aglara pointed her hand and lightning arced across her fingertips, about to launch an attack on Samus, when the Power Bomb detonated and engulfed both Magic Lords in an expanding wave of destructive energy. They both stood there as the wave engulfed them and they did not utter a single sound. Once the wave had dissipated, the two emerged from the center of the Power Bomb detonation unscathed. They grinned as Samus reassumed her normal form and turned to face them. She grimaced. She had hoped that the Power Bomb would have been enough to destroy the two Magic Lords, but suspected that it would not have been. She was surprised, though, to find that her attack had inflicted only miniscule damage to them. The two Magic Lords merely laughed. "What are you gonna do now, Hunter?" Aramon mocked. "None of your attacks can hurt us. You may have gotten lucky with your Screw Attack and Shinespark, but now, your luck has run out. Now you die!"

The two Magic Lords were about to unleash their attack on Samus when their eyes suddenly went wide and they turned their heads westward. "Damn," they muttered. "Of all the times _he_ could appear. Why now?"

Samus took this opportunity to fire some more energy blasts at them as she charged them in preparation of performing a Screw Attack. The plasma blasts did nothing, as Samus had expected, but she then performed a Screw Attack on the female, Aglara. The attack knocked Aglara out of her stupor, but inflicted little damage to her. Aramon, sensing his sister's shock at feeling Samus's attack, was roused from his own stupor as he fired a blast of pulsing green magic towards Samus. Samus barely managed to activate her Screw Attack in time and deflect the blow. The two Magic Lords turned to each other and said, "We'll have to deal with Samus later. Mewtwo is the greater concern right now."

For a split second, Samus wondered what they were talking about, particularly who this "Mewtwo" was, but still concentrated on taking them down as best she could. The two Magic Lords then closed their eyes and held two fingers in front of them and their other hand behind the first. She could see that they were performing some sort of hand sign, and that was likely a prelude to some form of magic. And given what she had heard, it was likely that they were teleporting somewhere. She quickly charged Aglara once more so that she could ride with her to the Magic Lords' intended destination. While she had not been able to inflict a great deal of damage on the Magic Lords, her Screw Attack and Shinespark had managed to inflict some, and those small bits might have been enough for another fighter to help her destroy them. As she charged the adolescent, she knew the grave risks involved with riding along in a teleportation, and that they may have been able to cast her off anywhere, but she felt as if it was worth the risk. If there was someone or something on Earth that was a threat to them, she had to know, since she had had little success in dealing with them. She could not let them blindside another potentially good soldier that might have been able to defeat them. She arrived at Aglara and bear-hugged her as she was beginning to teleport. She was then taken with the Magic Lords as they teleported away, the Magic Lords not reacting fast enough to force Samus away from them. She felt the rush of air as she glanced around her. In the brief instant, she saw the mountains, hills, and the ocean pass by as she was whisked away from New York and was taken to another location.

After a second or so, Samus and the two Magic Lords reappeared at the peak of a mountain. Aglara grunted and blasted Samus off of her with a blast of magic, taking off almost half of her total Energy Tanks. The bounty hunter was sent sailing through the air and landed almost twenty meters away. "How weak," Aglara mocked as she pointed her fingers at Samus, ready to finish her off. Just then, a blue wave of energy struck the Magic Lady and sent her sailing through the air. Almost an instant afterwards, a massive explosion sounded from above and Samus saw a massive ring of energy form and spread out from the top of a translucent stairway. Samus checked her HUD and found that the attack had managed to knock off almost half of Aglara's life bar. Her eyes went wide in shock as she then saw a white humanoid cat-like figure with a purple tail appear in front of her. She then noticed her Energy Tanks completely refill, and all fatigue leave her. The figure glanced back at her and he heard a voice in her mind say, "You're a Chosen Hero aren't you? I am Mewtwo. I am your ally." He then turned to face Aglara and Aramon and for the first time, she saw expressions of dread on the faces of the young Magic Lords.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Aglara and Aramon faced down Mewtwo as they realized that this opponent was a lot more powerful than their previous one. Not only that, but Mewtwo had completely restored Samus's energy and health as well. It was as if she had awakened fresh in the morning and just eaten her breakfast. The Magic Lords did not pay Samus much heed, though, for they knew that the real threat was Mewtwo. They then proceeded to initiate combat against Mewtwo when they began to chant, a clear prelude to performing a magical attack. Balls of pink energy formed in their hands and they targeted the psychic Pokémon. Once they zeroed in on him, they unleashed the pink balls of magic. The balls of magic rocketed towards Mewtwo with the Pokémon making no attempt to avoid them. Before they struck the Pokémon, though, they struck a shield bubble that had formed a couple feet away from Mewtwo. The balls splashed against the blue shield and were then rebounded back at the Magic Lords. Their eyes went wide as they did their best to dive out of the way of their own attacks. They were slow to react though, and were forced to take the full brunt of their own reflected attacks. The force of the impacts knocked them off their feet and through the air. They landed a few meters away and quickly rolled back up into a fighter's stance.

The two then drew their swords and pointed them at the heroes, Aramon towards Mewtwo, and Aglara towards Samus. Before they could launch an attack, though, they found themselves rocketing through the air backwards. They landed twenty meters away from their starting position and quickly rose to fighting posture once again. Before Mewtwo could continue to engage them, though, a blast of purple energy struck his shield in the back, knocking him to the ground. He looked behind and above him to find Dark Arceus descending from the Hall of Origin, powering another Judgment attack. Mewtwo powered another shield and powered a blue swirling Aura Sphere in his right hand. He launched the attack towards Dark Arceus's Judgment and the two attacks collided in midair, producing a massive explosion, along with a cloud of smoke. As the two attacks exploded, the ground shook and lightning crackled from the sky and portal above. Samus looked past Mewtwo and found the two Magic Lords preparing to attack Mewtwo, who was once again embroiled in his battle against Dark Arceus. Samus quickly scanned Dark Arceus as she interposed herself between Mewtwo and the Magic Lords in order to keep track of his health so she would know if he was either close to death and how much damage Mewtwo was doing to him. Upon scanning Dark Arceus, she found that he was at close to full health, his life bar appearing just below the Magic Lords'. A quick scan of Mewtwo indicated that he was at full health. She soon noticed Dark Arceus's health bar fill up completely. It was obvious to her that Dark Arceus and Mewtwo were on a whole other level of power and that there was not much that she would be able to do to help Mewtwo at the moment. She decided that it would be better to focus on the Magic Lords. She was at least able to inflict _some_ damage on them, and could keep them away from Mewtwo for the time being. She would have to let Mewtwo handle Dark Arceus while she held off the Magic Lords.

Samus proceeded to unleash a hail of energy fire towards the two adolescent elf-like beings, taking their attention away from the psychic Pokémon and causing them to focus solely on her. As she assumed, the plasma blasts inflicted no damage to the Magic Lords. The two seemingly teenaged sorcerers then proceeded to chant a spell as Samus decided to switch to her Ice Missiles. She locked onto Aramon and fired a single Ice Missile his way. She then switched her targeting to Aglara and fired a missile at her. The two missiles erupted from her arm cannon less than a second apart, each missile zeroing in on either of the Magic Lords as they left her cannon. As she fired the missile, she noticed a cold sensation running up her arm, stopping at the point where the arm cannon ended. It did not hurt, though, so she thought little of it at the moment. Upon seeing the missiles streaking towards them, the two Magic Lords stopped their chanting and proceeded to flee from the missiles. Samus used this opportunity to fire some more plasma shots at them, hoping to score even some trivial damage on them. It was not to be, though, as she focused on their life bars and saw that they were not draining. All the while, Samus had been moving, making herself as difficult a target to hit as possible so as to avoid any counterattack.

The Magic Lords continued to try to evade the missiles, but the projectiles continued to track them. As such, they decided that they had no choice but to take the brunt of the impact. They proceeded to raise a shield over themselves and let the missiles strike. The missiles struck their shield and detonated in an icy blast of energy. The shield glowed a bright white as the missiles struck. It absorbed the blows with ease and the two adolescents grinned at Samus. Samus grimaced. Her Ice Missiles were too slow to be able to hit them from range before they either raised a shield or avoided them all together. And as was shown before, they seemed to have a base durability that allowed them to withstand stacked Plasma Beam shots without any problems whatsoever. Even Charged Plasma Beam blasts had been all but useless against them. She did note, though, that they did their best to avoid her Ice Missiles, which made her think that the missiles somehow may have been a threat to them. She decided to test this theory further by firing another pair of missiles at the adolescents. Again, the Magic Lords attempted to evade the missiles, jumping away from them. The missiles tracked them and eventually caught up to the two youths. The missiles again detonated harmlessly against the shield they had previously erected over themselves. "I'm disappointed, Hunter," Aramon mocked. "The Chozo must have held you in high regard if they granted you a suit of Chozo power armor, even if the suit you wear now is nothing more than a shell of its former self."

While Aramon's arrogance did annoy Samus and she really wanted to wipe that grin off his face, she had to admit that things were not looking good for her at the moment. While she had avoided sustaining any damage in her fight against the Magic Lords, as of yet, she also knew that they were only playing with her. They had yet to launch any real attacks on her, with the only attack maybe being that spell she interrupted when she first fired her Ice Missiles towards them. There was still hope for her, though. If she could collapse that shield and fire a series of Ice Missiles, or even a Diffusion Missile, at them at point blank range, she might be able to freeze them for a while and potentially shatter them. The Magic Lords would not make this easy, though, as they drew their swords and pointed them up into the sky. Their swords began to glow yellow and Samus immediately went evasive as she prepared to fire her stacked Charged Plasma Beam in the hope of collapsing their shields. They were not making it easy for her, though, as they danced away from her stacked Plasma Beam shots, and the few that did manage to strike her shields, merely caused them to flare. Adam, however, scanned the shields and told her, "Samus, your stacked Plasma Beam is disrupting their shields a bit. The only issue is that it's not powerful enough to disrupt them entirely and break them apart. Perhaps a Charged Plasma Beam would be able to break the shield."

Samus nodded slightly and made the plans to try Adam's suggestion. It was worth a shot, considering that nothing she had tried previously was working on them. However, she knew that she would have to get close to the young Magic Lords for her plan to have any chance of success. And that would be difficult in and of itself since the Magic Lords were quite powerful and they had excellent reaction times. She knew that it would be her only shot at freezing them solid, though, and she knew that even if they were frozen, that they might not be able to be destroyed since they had already withstood a point blank Power Bomb explosion. The Magic Lords soon went on the attack and fired golden beams of energy from their swords. Samus barely managed to avoid the energy beams as she dove to the ground, allowing them to strike the ground behind her. Upon each strike, a ten-meter crater was gouged into the rocky ground. The power of the seemingly mundane attacks shocked Samus. Only now was she beginning to realize just how powerful these Magic Lords may well be, despite the fact that they were still only children.

Not too far away from the site of the battle between the Magic Lords and Samus, Mewtwo and Dark Arceus engaged in their own battle for the fate of the universe. Dark Arceus was proving to be a difficult opponent with tremendous defensive power and strong attacks and good speed, but Mewtwo's superior speed and special attack power were allowing him to hold his own against the technically superior Dark Omega Pokémon. He used his speed to great advantage as he dodged an attempted Body Slam by Dark Arceus. He moved faster than the eye could see as he evaded the attack and the Dark Omega Pokémon smashed the ground, throwing up dirt and debris and also causing the ground to shake. Mewtwo then countered with an Aura Sphere to the body of his enemy. He powered the sphere in his right hand and then fired it towards the dark Pokémon. The sphere struck Dark Arceus in the head, causing the beast to recoil and roar in both pain and annoyance. Dark Arceus retaliated with a blast of dark energy that blasted through Mewtwo's shields and hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Mewtwo landed in a heap, but quickly recovered and stood up, using Recover to heal himself of the damage caused by the blast of energy.

After recovering from Dark Arceus's attack, Mewtwo stood still for a few seconds and used Calm Mind to boost his already tremendous special attack powers, as well as his special defense abilities. He wanted to force Dark Arceus to utilize his own power increasing attacks, so that he could score a free hit on him. Dark Arceus did not take the bait, though, and he merely unleashed another Judgment attack upon Mewtwo. Mewtwo's enhanced defenses, however, allowed him to raise a stronger shield this time around. The purple ball of Judgment split off into a series of purple meteors that rained down upon the psychic Pokémon. Each of the meteors struck Mewtwo's shield, causing it to flare a bright blue, and then rebounded off of the shield and back to Dark Arceus. The dark Pokémon recoiled in surprise at the sight of his own attack being reflected back at him. "No!" he cried as the meteors converged upon him and struck. The damage to the surrounding area was minimal, but Mewtwo could feel that if that attack had struck the ground and not Dark Arceus, that it could have razed most of the continent. Even so, though, since Dark Arceus was a Dark type Pokémon, he suffered minimal damage from the attack. "Is that all you've got Mewtwo?" he asked haughtily.

Mewtwo gave a confident smile. He knew that his reflected attack would not inflict much damage to the Pokémon, but it did grant him a means of safety, at least for a time. He suspected that his shield would be able to withstand at least one more strike before collapsing. And with his already superior special attack being boosted by Calm Mind, and having an super effective attack in the form of Aura Sphere, he knew that he had the edge against Dark Arceus, despite having his signature, and most powerful, move, Psystrike, being useless against Dark Arceus due to the Pokémon being a Dark type Pokémon. Mewtwo used this opportunity to boost his Special Attack and Special Defense abilities even higher with another Calm Mind. The fact that Dark Arceus had not increased his abilities to counter Mewtwo's buffs was beginning to make the psychic Pokémon wonder if he even knew Calm Mind, or if he did, whether or not he had the ability to sense an opponent's power.

Dark Arceus soon powered another ball of Judgment and prepared to unleash it upon Mewtwo. However, this time, he made it so that it would not split off into a series of meteors, but remain a condensed ball and strike at a smaller point on Mewtwo's shields. He wanted to see how well Mewtwo's shield stood up to a tightly focused direct attack that had a type advantage against it. The ball of energy formed in front of Dark Arceus's mouth as the Pokémon opened his mouth and once it had formed, he unleashed it at Mewtwo. Mewtwo could easily feel the energy behind this ball and knew that if it struck the Earth, that it would be disastrous for the planet. That meant that he had no choice but to take the full brunt of the attack head on and hope for the best. Indeed, Mewtwo took the full power of the attack head on when the ball collided with his shield. He could feel that this attack was stronger than before, since his shield was not redirecting the attack back at Dark Arceus. Dark Arceus grinned at the sight and began to push more energy into his attack, putting even more strain on Mewtwo's shield. Mewtwo felt his shield begin to buckle and eventually collapse. He then unleashed his Aura Sphere on Dark Arceus's ball of Judgment and managed to push it back to the enemy Pokémon, since Dark Arceus's attack had been weakened while breaking through Mewtwo's shield. Dark Arceus jumped out of the way of the attacks and the balls of energy went sailing up towards the purple vortex that was still in the sky, glaring down at everyone. Mewtwo used Calm Mind once more, knowing that his shield was down and that he would have to concentrate to construct another. Dark Arceus was wise to Mewtwo's tactics now, and, thus, he began to use Calm Mind in order to raise his own Special Attack and Special Defense as well, mainly because he knew that Mewtwo's Aura Sphere was inflicting quite a bit of damage per hit. He needed to have a little extra bulk before he could power up some of his other abilities in order to give himself a good chance of beating his opponent.

Mewtwo had other ideas, though, as he quickly fired off another Aura Sphere. Even with his enhanced Special Defense, Dark Arceus knew that it would be foolish for him to take an Aura Sphere to the face. As such, he created a Substitute and then backed away, ascending the stairs and making his way back up to the Hall of Origin where he could use Recover to restore the health he used when creating the Substitute. The Aura Sphere struck the Substitute and instantly annihilated it. Mewtwo looked up at Dark Arceus and could feel his attack power rising, along with the dark Pokémon spinning around. Dark Arceus was using Swords Dance in order to increase his physical attack power. Mewtwo went to pursue the dark Pokémon and take the fight to him but was stopped when a golden stream of energy struck him in the back, knocking him to the ground. The surprise attack was not sufficient to kill Mewtwo or even inflict serious damage to him, and would have inflicted less if he had not been caught off guard, but it did take his attention off of Dark Arceus and force him to also focus on what was going on behind him. And that _would_ be trouble. He grimaced as he realized that he was dangerously close to fighting a two-front war; a war made even more dangerous by the fact that one of his opponents was at the very least his equal, and more likely his superior on an even playing field, and the others were no slouches in combat, either.

Behind the psychic Pokémon, Samus was busy engaging the Magic Lord youths in a difficult and hotly contested battle. Samus was sent flying through the air as half of her Energy Tanks were taken out by a golden burst of energy unleashed by Aglara's sword. Aglara gave off a shrill laugh as Samus was hit. "Weak," she mocked, hoping to cause Samus to become more frustrated at her inability to do any real damage to her and cause her to attack more boldly. The bounty hunter did not take the bait, though, and she merely charged another Plasma Beam blast and fired on Aglara. Aglara quickly sidestepped the beam and gave another laugh until she heard a grunt echo from behind her. Her sidestepping the beam had allowed it to strike Aramon's shield and collapse it. "You idiot!" he cried at his sister. "Watch what you're doing!"

"Be more observant, then, moron!" Aglara called back. Aglara then turned to face Aramon and approached him menacingly. This gave Samus the perfect opportunity to collapse her shield with a Charged Plasma Beam blast. The green ball of energy formed at the end of her arm cannon as she charged the blast and after a second, she unleashed the blast of energy at Aglara. Since Aglara had her back turned, she did not see the blast coming, and Aramon was in no mood to let her know that Samus was launching an attack. The blast splashed against Aglara's shield and managed to collapse it with one hit. This only caused the two Magic Lords to begin bickering even more with one another. Aglara turned and glared at her brother. "You worthless bastard! Look at what you did?"

"What _I_ did? You're the fool who stepped aside and allowed that human to collapse your shield with that special beam of hers," Aramon roared in response. "You're always blaming me for your own screwups! Now get back in there and kill that stupid human girl!"

"You do it if you're so strong!" Aglara screamed back at the top of her lungs. With that, the two began to fight. Aramon, not one to take his sister's insult lightly, thrust his sword towards the lower abdomen of Aglara. She parried the attack with her sword and fired a beam of energy from the sword's tip directly at Aramon, despite the fact that her sword had been pointing up towards the sky. The golden beam of energy struck Aramon in the chest and sent him flying through the air. He hit the floor with a thud and looked up at Aglara, his face almost looking demonic with the rage he now held towards his sister. Aglara's expression echoed her brother's as she charged him. He raised his hand and without any warning, lightning erupted from his fingertips. The lightning instantly crossed the distance between himself and Aglara and struck Aglara in the chest. Electricity arced all over her body and she gave a cry of shock and pain as she was sent hurtling through the air. Aramon then rose to charge his fallen sister.

Meanwhile, Samus was looking at the two exceedingly powerful siblings fight with one another and decided that it would be wiser to sit out of the fight. She looked over at Mewtwo and nodded, thinking, _They're busy for the moment. You take on that other creature. I'll do my best to keep those two adolescents at bay_.

Mewtwo nodded in acknowledgment and flew up the translucent stairway in pursuit of Dark Arceus.

Back down on the ground, though, Samus could not observe the fighting sibling for much longer, for several humans quickly came towards her. They wore uniforms that consisted of black pants and gray and black shirts with a stylized "G" on their chests. _So this is the Team Galactic that the people of Earth keep talking about_, she thought. She saw the Vice-Chairman, or rather, Chairman, Cyrus, making his way towards the stairway that led up to the Hall of Origin. She had a bad feeling that Cyrus was going to try to assist Dark Arceus in his battle against Mewtwo. She focused on the Chairman and prepared to fire her Plasma Beam in order to stop him, for she saw the "G" on his uniform as well. Before she could fire, though, she felt several weights impact her suit from the rear.

Turning back around, she saw several grunts of Team Galactic, and several other creatures standing before them. The creatures consisted of purple and white skunks, bats that looked to be mostly mouths with wings, and deathly thin cat-like creatures that carried none of the grace or power of Mewtwo. She suspected that these were also Pokémon. Remembering that they were said to be sentient, she took no pity for them as she took aim at each one and fired a single plasma beam shot at them, felling the creatures with one hit, each. They had made their choices the moment they had sided with Team Galactic. She then fired on the human Team Galactic members, who were now drawing weapons on her and swiftly dispatched them as well. She then checked her HUD and found that some of the creatures were still alive, albeit seriously injured. She considered finishing off the fallen creatures, but she eventually decided against it. With the deaths of their human masters, she would give them a chance to do something else with their lives. However, if any of them were to try to attack her, she would kill said attackers without a second thought, as a foolish Glameow found out when it tried to blindside Samus by unleashing a Thunderbolt attack on her. The yellow bolt of lightning was emitted from the cat-like Pokémon's body and it struck Samus, disrupting her visor for a few seconds and taking off fifty units of energy from her current Energy Tank. Still, Samus had seen the location of the Pokémon before it had launched the attack and retaliated with an uncharged plasma blast, and proceeded to annihilate the head and the upper torso cat-like Pokémon. The death of their comrade convinced the other Pokémon to abandon the fight and flee the mountain peak.

Looking back at Aglara and Aramon fight, Samus noticed that their battle was inflicting significant damage to the both of them. She grinned, knowing that her opportunity to take them out of action was coming. She looked back at Cyrus, who was going up to the site of Mewtwo and Dark Arceus's battle, and figured that he did not have anything that could threaten Mewtwo. At least, he did not have anything that would force her to risk missing her opportunity to neutralize the threat posed by the two Magic Lords. As they continued to fight, she noticed that they were beginning to slow down and look a little winded. Viewing this as her opportunity, she switched to her Ice Missiles and began to charge her Diffusion Missile. As she was charging her missile, she felt a sharp, freezing pain shoot through her arm starting at her hand and working itself all the way up to the shoulder. She suppressed a cry at the sensation and did her best to concentrate on the Magic Lords and approach them undetected, which was not too difficult since they were embroiled in a swordfight. The sound of swords clashing rang out over the peak of Mount Coronet as they struggled to gain the upper hand against the other. As they were pushing against each other, Samus fired her Diffusion Missile. As the missile erupted from her arm cannon, the freezing sensation got worse as she felt her entire right arm begin to go numb. Her suit seemed to sense that something was wrong and instantly vented all of the freezing gas and energy from her cannon. Freezing blue and white gas and even some energy was vented from the cannon and a mist formed to Samus's right.

She watched as the missile streaked towards the unsuspecting Magic Lords. Just as the missile was about to strike, they seemed to notice the oncoming missile; but it was too little, too late. The missile made contact with Aglara and detonated, instantly encasing her in a block of ice. Aramon was too slow to react and thus, was unable to either outrun the expanding wave of freezing energy or raise a shield to protect himself from the wave. The bluish wave of energy washed over him and soon, he found himself encased in a block of ice as well.

Samus moved a safe distance away from the freezing mist that had been vented from her arm cannon and looked to see the results of her Diffusion Missile. She also switched back to her Plasma Beam and charged a plasma blast, which seemed to warm up her arm and return feeling to it. She saw that her Diffusion Missile had been successful in freezing the Magic Lords. However, she could see droplets of water begin to form, as well as the ice around Aglara begin to crack. Samus knew that she did not have the time to curl into Morph Ball form and destroy them with her Power Bombs, nor would she arrive in time to shatter them with her Screw Attack. Using beams was also out of the equation since she surmised that she would be more likely to hasten their defrosting than shatter them. However, she would not have to worry about them for long, for a field of blue energy appeared around them.

The adolescent Magic Lords proceeded to rise into the air as their defrosting had suddenly halted. They accelerated into the air and were sent on a direct course for the purple vortex that was swirling above a transparent platform that was suspended high in the sky. Up on the platform, she watched as Dark Arceus repeatedly swiped his claws at Mewtwo, a purplish-black energy surrounding his claws. Mewtwo deftly dodged the swipe but did not counterattack. She then noticed Mewtwo's eyes glowing blue, indicating that he was the one that was in control of the still frozen Magic Lords. As such, she knew that she had to do something to keep Dark Arceus at bay while Mewtwo dealt with the Magic Lords. She charged her Plasma Beam and was about to fire on the dark Pokémon when an explosion formed near her, sending her flying. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she had seen an energy bolt come down onto the surface as she was preparing to fire on Dark Arceus. Up in the Hall of Origin, Dark Arceus managed to hit Mewtwo in the chest with an ExtremeSpeed attack and the psychic cat-like Pokémon was sent flying through the air, reeling. She then saw Cyrus appear several steps behind and below Mewtwo and release his Pokémon. The new Chairman's Pokémon proceeded to launch their most powerful attacks on Mewtwo. The psychic Pokémon managed to raise a shield to protect himself from their attacks but combined with Dark Arceus's Judgment attack and the attacks of Cyrus's Pokémon, his shield beginning to buckle and his focus on the frozen Magic Lords was broken. The Magic Lords promptly fell back down to the Earth, where they struck the ground, but did not shatter.

Samus risked a glance up into the sky and found an alien transport descending from the sky. So far, it had not fired any more shots at her. She then refocused her attention back on the Magic Lords. Samus then switched back to her Ice Missiles and fired two missiles at the frozen statues in order to keep them frozen. The two missiles erupted from her arm cannon and another jolt of freezing pain shot up her arm. This one was not as bad as the one that had occurred when she used her Diffusion Missile, but she did not want to have to use Ice Missiles anymore. The missiles proceeded to strike the Magic Lords, preventing them from defrosting. She then focused her attention towards Cyrus, since she viewed him as the bigger threat at the moment, along with the fact that her other weapons were not guaranteed to shatter the Magic Lords.

She raced towards the new Chairman and opened fire with her Plasma Beam. Her beam struck Cyrus's Gyarados, a large blue and white sea-serpent-like Pokémon and Spiritomb, a round purple and green gaseous Pokémon, inflicting severe damage to both Pokémon. They fell to the ground, unconscious and ceased to move, though Samus's HUD indicated that they were still alive. Cyrus yelled towards his remaining Pokémon, "Continue attacking Mewtwo! We must give Arceus enough time to complete the Judgment attack!"

Upon hearing Cyrus give his orders to his Pokémon, she fired a spray of shots towards the Pokémon in an attempt to have them focus on her, and allow Mewtwo the chance to not only deal with Dark Arceus, but also deal with the frozen Magic Lords, who were likely about to defrost. Her shots winged Cyrus's Crobat, a purple bat-like Pokémon with two sets of wings and scored a direct hit on Houndoom, a black dog-like Pokémon with silver horns in place of ears. Since Houndoom was a Fire type Pokémon, he was able to resist Samus's Plasma Beam a bit, but still suffered significant damage from her attack. As such, he was taken out of the fight, nursing the burns inflicted by Samus's Plasma Beam. Cyrus's sole remaining combat capable Pokémon, Weavile, a gray bipedal cat-like Pokémon with a red collar, crown, and two red tails took one look at the situation and, realizing that discretion was the better part of valor, fled the battle. Cyrus turned and pulled out what looked to be a Chozo Technology Disruptor pistol and fired a bluish-white burst of energy towards Samus. Samus danced away from the blast and fired a blast of energy towards Cyrus, who dove towards Mewtwo in order to avoid Samus's attack. He was not completely successful as his Chozo Technology Disruptor pistol was struck by the attack and shattered by her beam. Cyrus dropped the pistol's remains and fled from Samus, towards the top of the stairs. Samus was about to pursue when a pulsing green energy pulse struck her suit, taking off almost all of her remaining Energy Tanks from her Omega Fusion Suit. She looked above her and found two armored figures descend from the descending transport. Samus then yelled to Mewtwo, "Mewtwo, we've got company. If you're going to get rid of the Magic Lords, do it now!"

Mewtwo nodded and proceeded to blast Dark Arceus with an Aura Sphere. The sphere struck the dark Pokémon in the head and dazed him for a moment. In that moment, Mewtwo telekinetically grabbed the frozen Magic Lords, who were beginning to defrost once more, and launched them towards the vortex. A blue energy field formed around the adolescents and they began to rise into the air. They were accelerated towards the swirling vortex and without Cyrus's Pokémon to distract him, Mewtwo was able to hold off Dark Arceus and propel the Magic Lords into the rift, and hopefully to their deaths. The frozen Magic Lords rose into the vortex and within a few seconds, had disappeared from sight. Once Mewtwo felt their presences disappear, he felt that they had been dealt with, at least for the time being. Now he could focus his full attention on Dark Arceus since Cyrus was no threat without his Pokémon or a gun. That was before a stream of energy fire came down and assaulted Mewtwo, forcing him to push more of his energy into his shields to resist the attack. He grunted with frustration as he had to hold off the attack, along with Dark Arceus. To make matters worse, he was without any support for the time being since had her own problems to deal with on the mountain peak below.

Below the Hall of Origin, where Mewtwo and Dark Arceus resumed their battle, Samus focused on the transport descending from the sky. She saw two armored figures standing on the edge of the transport as it descended. In addition, a floating golden orb with a long vertical line on its left, and a smaller horizontal line on its bottom suddenly appeared with a flash only a few feet away from her. She looked past the orb and found the transport and the two armored figures launching an assault on Mewtwo. The figures quickly jumped off of the ship and rockets activated on their feet and back, keeping them close to the transport and allowing them to add their own firepower to the transport's. Mewtwo recoiled and grunted with each hit as he struggled to hold off a ball of Judgment from Dark Arceus. He glanced upwards and saw the transport but did nothing to neutralize its threat. She was shocked to see Mewtwo having so much trouble protecting himself against the energy fire of the transport and the two armored soldiers until she realized that it was his power that was preventing the entirety of Mount Coronet from being vaporized by their energy blasts. And this was being done while keeping Dark Arceus at bay; a task that was made more difficult since the Dark Omega Pokémon was firing blast after blast of Judgment into Mewtwo's shield. She scanned the transport and discovered that the beam weapons that were being used by the transport had unique properties that allowed them to drain shields at an increased rate, far greater than their conventional firepower would allow. In fact, according to her scans, these weapons had been designed for use against planetary shields. In addition, her scans clearly told her that this transport was not of Federation, Space Pirate, Chozo, or Luminoth design. Still, given the nature of the technology that she had seen, she figured that it had to be of an older race that was likely a contemporary of the Chozo and Luminoth, possibly the N'Kren or the Ylla. If it turned out to be the case, then the question that sprang to mind was why would they reveal themselves at this moment, and why come to Earth? In addition to the special weapons, the Heavy Assault Transport also had heavy shields, far stronger than they should have been for a ship of its size. Not only that, but they seemed to be designed to block magical and psychic attacks, for Mewtwo had not taken the time to disable the ship, despite the threat that it posed. And with the psychic Pokémon busy fending off Dark Arceus, she had a feeling that he could not spare the necessary power to deal with the transport. Unfortunately, she did not have the firepower to bring down the transport either, but something had to be done, for Mewtwo could not hold out against the attacks from the Dark Arceus, the armored soldiers, _and_ the transport forever. She then scanned the two figures and found that she had no files on them at all, but their firepower seemed to be capital ship grade. Now, Mewtwo's struggles made a lot more sense. She knew that she had to do something fast or one of the blasts would break through Mewtwo's shield and severely injure, if not kill him outright.

Samus charged her Plasma Beam and prepared to fire on one of the transport's weapons when the two armored figures descended and placed themselves between her and the transport. However, the golden orb floated in between them and something clicked in her mind that she should fire on the orb, rather than on the armored figures and the transport. She fired her Charged Plasma Beam at the orb and shattered it with one shot. Her suit was immediately surrounded by an aura that alternated its color from blue to green to gold and to an orange-red. She felt the power of her arm cannon's beam weaponry increase dramatically. The power was so great that she felt as if all of her suit's energy had been pushed into her arm cannon for a single massively powerful energy blast. Knowing that she had no real choice but to take out the transport before the transport and its escorting armored soldiers managed to weaken Mewtwo's shield enough for Dark Arceus to be able to break through, she zeroed in on the ship.

Before she fired, though, she looked down at Adam, whose carrier unit was still attached to her left arm. Not knowing the effect that firing her new beam would have, she told him, "Adam, disengage yourself from my suit and get as far away from here as possible. I don't know what the firing of this new beam will do so I don't want you to accidentally get caught in its wash."

"Understood, lady," Adam responded, attempting to put some humor into his voice. The small data container unit that he had transferred himself into when he had been disconnected from Samus's gunship disconnected itself from Samus's left arm and floated away towards the edge of Spear Pillar. He still wanted to get some scans on the armored soldiers, assuming that they were not destroyed by Samus's new beam.

Once Adam was safely away, Samus targeted the transport and prepared to fire her new beam, whatever it was. As she fired her beam towards the transport and the two enemy armored figures, a bluish-white ball quickly formed at the end of her arm cannon as it charged and prepared to fire. In less than a second, a massive stream of bluish-white energy erupted from her cannon. The beam traveled relatively slowly, but was still fast enough to strike a large ship like the transport. However, the two armored figures managed to evade her fire so she tried to compensate and direct the massive wave of energy to include them as well. She found that it was difficult to move her arm and it took all of her strength to move the cannon so that she could move it over the armored soldiers. Eventually, with great difficulty, she was able to collect them in the beam as well. The beam quickly drained the shields of the transport and her beam struck the hull directly. At first, the hull around the impact point turned orange, then yellow, and eventually it was completely burned through. The outer edges of the large hole that was burned into the ship were still yellow and pieces of superheated metal were falling from the ship. The beam emerged from the top of the ship and the now gored ship's engines began to flicker and go silent. The ship seemingly lost all power and began to descend to the ground. It struck the seemingly reeling armored soldiers as they had been forced to endure the full brunt of the attack and they were driven into the ground by the falling transport as it crashed. Upon crashing into the ground, the transport threw up a great deal of dirt and debris. The front and lower parts of the transport crumpled upon impact and panels fell of the sides of the ship as the hull bent due to the impact.

Samus, however, had actually fared significantly worse than the transport, for upon using her new energy beam, which she now referred to as the Zero Laser, her suit began to break apart. All of the pieces of metal that were molded together that made up her suit broke apart and fell off her body. First the suit's arms, then the torso, and finally the legs fell to the ground and scattered before the bounty hunter. The last piece of armor to fall of was her arm cannon. In the span of a few seconds, Samus had gone from having a suit with more than two hundred missiles, multiple beam weapons, and a little less than nine remaining Energy Tanks to being almost completely defenseless save for an emergency energy pistol and plasma whip and a small personal shield projector she wore on her left wrist. The good news, though, seemed to be that with the transport no longer attacking Mewtwo that he was now able to fight evenly with Dark Arceus once more. Still, she figured that he was expending a great deal of energy fighting the dark Pokémon, though, and she knew that it would only be a matter of time before he gave out. The question was whether or not he would defeat Dark Arceus before he used up all of his energy; or would Dark Arceus give out even before Mewtwo? She began to make her way up the stairs so she could support Mewtwo anyway she could and to watch his back when a stream of pulsing green energy erupted from the crashed transport. Emerging from the new hole in the ship were the two armored figures that had been attacking Mewtwo along with the transport. She also saw several more large figures emerging from a now open panel on the ship. "Oh crud," she said with dread. Without her armor, she knew that she was no match for the armored soldiers that were flying towards her. And she did not give herself good odds against the other soldiers that were approaching her, either. Still, she had little choice. She had to give Mewtwo enough time to deal with Dark Arceus before the other soldiers killed her and could focus solely on Mewtwo uncontested. She then charged towards the oncoming soldiers, knowing that she would likely die, but knowing that every moment she gave Mewtwo took them one step closer to saving the Earth, and possibly even the galaxy and/or the universe.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Back in the Hall of Origin, Mewtwo and Dark Arceus continued their hotly contested battle. Mewtwo's Aura Sphere pushed against Dark Arceus's ball of Judgment, with neither attack budging the other an inch. Eventually, the two attacks exploded, creating a large cloud of smoke. The shockwave of the explosion pushed both Pokémon backwards and Mewtwo had to expend more energy to keep himself on top of the platform. Just as he had recovered, a massive claw engulfed in a purple field of energy came slashing through the smoke and towards the psychic Pokémon. He barely managed to teleport out of the way of the attack, causing it to cut through nothing but air. He appeared directly behind Dark Arceus and fired another Aura Sphere into the back of the dark Omega Pokémon. The sphere scored a direct hit and detonated in a massive cloud of smoke and energy. Mewtwo gave a satisfied smile as Dark Arceus stumbled forwards due to the attack's power and tripped. The evil Pokémon was not beaten yet, though. He quickly turned and unleashed a blast of Judgment upon Mewtwo, which made direct contact with the Pokémon, sending him sailing in the opposite direction, and nearly off the platform and down the steps that led back down to the Spear Pillar. There, Mewtwo sensed out of the corner of his mind, Cyrus drawing a pistol. The human pointed the pistol at Mewtwo's head and fired. Mewtwo was barely able to raise a weak shield to protect himself from the bullet.

He grimaced as he glanced back at Cyrus, who gave a difficult, but evil, grin. His uniform looked to have soot on it and a part of it looked to have been burned away, revealing a sheet of what looked to be blue armor underneath with a green line. Cyrus fired again, but Mewtwo's shield protected him from the Chairman's shots. With a telekinetic jerk, he yanked the pistol out of Cyrus's grasp, nearly taking off the human's arm in the process. The force of the pull brought Cyrus closer to Mewtwo and Dark Arceus as well. He stared up into the vortex that had appeared over Spear Pillar and the Hall of Origin and wondered if it led to the universe, that had been created two years ago by Dialga and Palkia, or if this was merely a portal to the Distortion World. He put the question out of his mind as he witnessed Mewtwo and Dark Arceus power up their attacks once more. Dark Arceus cried out, "Now it ends Mewtwo! You and all the others will now perish as decided by my Final Judgment!"

With that, Dark Arceus rose into the air, close to the entrance to the portal and powered one last Judgment attack. Mewtwo could sense that a great deal of energy was being pushed into this attack and he knew that he had to respond. The only problem, though, was the fact that the only attack that would be useful against a Dark type attack like that would be his Aura Sphere, which lacked the raw power of Dark Arceus's Judgment attack, and did not even grant him a Same Type Ability Bonus in its power, unlike Dark Arceus's Judgment. And from what he could tell, Dark Arceus's Judgment attack was even stronger than before. The only good thing was that the evil Pokémon had not launched the attack at him yet; the purple and black ball of energy was still forming in front of his mouth.

Mewtwo took this opportunity to use Calm Mind and power his Special Attack and Special Defense to its maximum. He knew that he would need all the energy he could muster, for he only had enough strength for a few more Aura Spheres. The one bit of good news here, though, was the fact that his Pressure ability forced Dark Arceus to use a great deal of energy, himself, when using his attacks. It had only been Dark Arceus's versatility in being able to use effective physical and special attacks that had kept him in the game when dealing with Mewtwo.

Once Mewtwo was fully powered up, he powered an Aura Sphere in his right hand. Within a second, it was fully charged. Dark Arceus was also ready with his Final Judgment and he proceeded to yell, "Here you go, Mewtwo! With this Final Judgment, you and all on this world will die to make way for a new universe!"

Cyrus beamed as he witnessed Dark Arceus launch his attack. He then charged towards Mewtwo so he could ram the psychic bipedal cat-like Pokémon and knock his Aura Sphere off course so Dark Arceus could finally unmake this flawed universe and replace it with one that was devoid of spirit or emotion. Mewtwo, however, had sensed his charge and almost immediately, Cyrus found himself practically glued to the ground, as if gravity had been increased by several times. With Cyrus's threat neutralized for the time being once more, he focused on Dark Arceus and launched his Aura Sphere.

The two attacks headed straight towards each other, with Dark Arceus making no attempt to break his Final Judgment off into meteors to get around Mewtwo's Aura Sphere and Mewtwo's Aura Sphere on a direct course for the Final Judgment. The attacks then collided in midair and there they remained, suspended for an instant until the balls began to flatten out. The two then pushed more energy into each of their attacks. The ground began to shake as Mewtwo felt the entire world begin to tremble underneath the awesome power of their battle. Looking at the two attacks flattening, he knew that if they detonated here, that they could theoretically destroy the world, if not the galaxy or the universe.

With all of his remaining strength, Mewtwo took control of his Aura Sphere and then positioned it a little bit beneath the ball of Final Judgment. He then forced his Aura Sphere to push against the ball of Final Judgment in order to push it through the swirling vortex. Eventually, he was able to muster the strength to do so and began pushing the balls towards the portal. Dark Arceus quickly became wise to Mewtwo's plan, though, and cried, "No you don't!"

He dive down towards Mewtwo and proceeded to try to slash at him, but Mewtwo was still faster than him and ducked beneath his Shadow Claw swipe. Mewtwo then grabbed two of Dark Arceus's legs and tackled him to the ground. Glancing back at the two attacks, he used most of his remaining strength to push them into the portal, where they disappeared. After a few seconds, the vortex convulsed and looked to be destabilizing. Just then, there was a massive rush of air towards the vortex and Mewtwo realized that something similar to a black hole seemed to have formed inside the vortex, likely when the two attacks had detonated. Knowing that he would have to use his remaining energy to close the portal, and not wanting to keep something as powerful as Dark Arceus on the Earth, Mewtwo rocketed towards the vortex with the dark Omega Pokémon in tow. Cyrus, suddenly feeling himself able to move, charged after Mewtwo and grabbed him just as he was rising from the ground. Cyrus's grab did nothing to slow down Mewtwo and he continued on his way to the portal. After a couple seconds, he and Dark Arceus, with Cyrus in tow, entered the vortex and it began to pulse and destabilize even more. A few seconds after they had entered the vortex, the swirling vortex closed and vanished and all was calm on the Spear Pillar. As the vortex vanished, the Hall of Origin also began to fade away, along with the stairway that led to the hall. After a few seconds, the stairs and the hall had vanished, leaving no trace that they had ever existed.

Back on the top of Spear Pillar, during Mewtwo's battle with Dark Arceus, Samus had her own fight to contend with as the two armored figures approached her, along with several other soldiers. This fight, which would have already have been difficult with her Omega Fusion Suit, was now even tougher since her Zero Laser had destroyed her suit, its scraps littering the ground around her, leaving her with nothing but her white sleeveless neo Zero Suit with a emergency energy pistol and plasma whip and a personal shield projector on her left wrist. Even worse was the fact that the components of the suit were completely burned out and utterly useless, even for scrap. The only component that looked to still be partially functional was her arm cannon and that looked to only have one Plasma Beam burst of energy left. Things were certainly looking bleak at the moment. And they were only going to get worse.

Not too far away, she saw several hovercars approach her location. Inside the hovercars were Watchman troopers. These troopers wore golden armor, indicating that they were soldiers, rather than merely secret police officers. As they approached her, they called back to the armored figures and other soldiers, yelling, "That's her! She's the one who murdered the Chairman of the Galactic Federation!"

Samus's eyes went wide in surprise. "Are you joking? Elric let the Magic Lords try to use some song that would have killed all of humanity throughout the galaxy!" she called back in response. "And besides, it was the Magic Lords that eventually killed him."

"That still does not absolve her of her attempt to kill Cyrus!" one of the Watchmen cried in response towards the alien soldiers. "As N'Kren soldiers, you have a duty to carry out all orders and to assist your allies in times of need." Samus's eyes flashed. So these _were_ N'Kren soldiers. Things just got a lot worse for her. "We need your help now," the Watchman exhorted the N'Kren soldiers. "Help us bring justice to a known murderer!" he cried.

"Cyrus made a deal with an evil creature that was about to destroy the world, if not the galaxy, or even the universe, had it not been for the actions of Mewtwo," Samus countered.

"All we have is your word," one of the N'Kren soldiers called over to her. "The word of a bounty hunter and mercenary soldier," he seethed. It was clear that he did not think highly of bounty hunters and mercenaries, even those who only fought for just causes like Samus. "And on the other side, we have soldiers of the Galactic Federation."

"Those aren't Galactic Federation soldiers," Samus countered. "They're secret police and have already been shown to have had questionable dealings and committed questionable acts under the orders of Elric. They're nothing more than legalized thugs."

"That is of little importance," the N'Kren soldier retorted. "We made a deal with Elric to help the Federation in its time of need. That time is now."

"Then help them by finding out what is going on, sir," a muffled female voice responded.

Samus looked around to see where the voice had come from and soon found that it had come from one of the armored soldiers, the one wearing silver armor and was equipped with shoulder-mounted plasma cannons. She also suspected that the silver soldier had other energy weapons as well.

"Don't forget your place, Blaster!" the soldier snapped.

"She hasn't," came a response from a masculine voice that Samus suspected was the golden armored warrior. "Perhaps you should not forget your promise. Just because Elric was the leader of the Galactic Federation does not make him a hero. The same can be said about Cyrus. We don't know what the circumstances of this battle were. You ordered us to attack that cat-like creature, but as we fought him, I could not help but notice that he did not act like the villain. Our survival is evidence enough of that. He could have easily killed us, with his telepathy, or telekinesis, but he didn't."

The N'Kren soldier would hear nothing of what the armored soldiers were saying. "You have your orders soldiers. Execute them!"

The two armored soldiers then turned back towards Samus and for a moment, they seemed to hesitate. Eventually, though, they assumed a fighter's stance and proceeded to charge towards Samus. As they came towards her, though, several missiles fell upon them from their left and detonated. The missiles did not inflict any damage, but the force of the impacts did knock them off course a bit and cause them to turn towards the direction of their attackers. Another volley of missiles and energy fire was sprayed into the ranks of the other N'Kren soldiers, forcing them to find cover, or be annihilated by the enemy fire. Samus looked up and to the right and saw what looked to be a Federation Assault Shuttle descending onto the battlefield. The shuttle came close to touching the ground and a hatch opened. Jumping out of the hatch were Kreatz, along with two other figures, a human in a flight suit with a helmet and visor that Samus recognized as fellow bounty hunter Captain Douglas Jay Falcon, or Captain Falcon as he is better known around the galaxy, and a large ape. Kreatz landed near Samus and directed the others, saying, "Donkey Kong, you and Captain Falcon take on those two armored soldiers. I'll cover Samus and keep her safe until Mauk can land and we can get her onboard." He then activated a comm unit in his trench coat and said, "Mauk, create a perimeter around Samus and the others. We have to isolate the armored soldiers since Samus doesn't have her armor and they look pretty powerful. Also, after you land, you'll have to provide cover from the alien soldiers."

"Got it, Kreatz," Mauk crackled in over the comm.

Meanwhile, Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon made their way over to the two armored soldiers and prepared to attack. Captain Falcon drew back his right hand as he headed towards the silver solder, Blaster, and yelled, "Falcon Punch!" He thrust his fist forward and an explosion of fire in the shape of a falcon emerged from his hand and struck the armored soldier. However, Blaster was not even fazed by the punch, which seemed to hurt Captain Falcon's hand as he recoiled and massaged his hand. A casual backfist from the armored soldier sent the captain flying through the air and to the ground twenty meters away. Falcon hit the ground and eventually skidded to a halt, groaning but still alive.

As for Donkey Kong, he did not fare much better against the golden armored warrior. He charged the soldier and spun his right hand as he approached. Once he was within melee range, he unleashed a massive Giant Fist on the soldier. He struck the soldier in the head, which caused the armored soldier to recoil and take a few steps backwards, but other than that, he was virtually unhurt. The same could not be said about Donkey Kong's fist as he was blowing on his hand and massaging it. The fist was also already showing signs of bruising.

"That won't do," the golden armored soldier stated in a dark tone. "You need to put more power into your attacks if you wish to either penetrate the armor of a Techno Lord or injure the person inside the armor." He said it in a way that was only partially patronizing, though. It seemed to Samus and the others as if he was actually hoping that they had the power to defeat him.

Samus then stepped forward and called to everyone, "Get back everyone. I'll handle this!"

"What?" Kreatz blurted. "Are you crazy Samus? Your suit has been destroyed! All you've got is your dinky energy pistol with plasma whip and a personal shield. They'll slaughter you! You're lucky we picked up what was going on here and turned back in time to help."

"Do it!" Samus commanded. "These soldiers are too powerful for you. If you face them, you will likely die."

"Samus?" the golden Techno Lord stammered as he heard the Star Elf call out the name of the suitless bounty hunter that was standing before him. He looked deep into her eyes as soon as she had finished exhorting Kreatz and the others to stay back and let her take care of this and soon thought that his opponent looked familiar, too familiar to be a coincidence.

"What are you doing Blade?" one of the N'Kren soldiers asked. "Why aren't you attacking?"

"What's going on Rodney?" Blaster then asked, coming over to the golden armored Techno Lord.

"That bounty hunter," Blade answered, pointing towards Samus. "She looks like you, and the Star Elf called her Samus. Do you think…?"

"Stop dallying and attack!" the N'Kren leader bellowed indignantly. "She's the enemy. Take her!"

"We'll have to fight her, but not to the death," Blaster told the golden armored soldier.

"I'll go first," Blade told the other soldier. "I have multiple bladed weapons that can give her a shot should she manage to acquire one of them," he told her. "Stay back and cover the others."

"Understood," Blaster responded as she flew back towards the approaching N'Kren soldiers.

Blade then approached Samus and drew out two cylinders. After pressing two buttons on the cylinders, two blue energy blades sprang forth from each cylinder. "Defend yourself, Samus Aran!" Blade cried as he charged her.

Samus could not help but recognize Blade's voice as he charged her, especially since she had heard the female Techno Lord, Blaster, refer to him as Rodney, the name of her father. She stood her ground and waited for the opportune moment to sidestep his attack and hopefully disarm him and allow her a chance to go on the attack. He quickly arrived at Samus and took a single swipe with the beam sword in his left hand. Samus dodged to the right and struck his wrist, trying to knock the sword out of his hand. Much to her surprise, she was able to knock it out, causing the beam sword to disappear. She bent down and picked it up the hilt and pressed the button, igniting the blade. She then raised the blade and managed to block Blade's downward swipe. She then took the opportunity to perform a side slash at the Techno Lord. He moved his blade to intercept hers, but Samus quickly reversed her move and performed a reverse strike. This strike took Blade off guard and she managed to score a hit on him. She swept the blade across his torso and managed to inflict physical damage to his armor. Electricity began to spark where the armor was breached and he staggered backwards. Samus did not have anything that resembled a Scan Visor, but she could tell that he was not fatally injured. Heck, it seemed as if the armor had suffered what should have amounted to a minor cut. Still, Blade fell to one knee, something that did not please his N'Kren commander one bit.

"What the hell are you doing? That hit wasn't enough to stagger a Techno Lord like you!" he roared.

Blade did not turn at all, and merely stepped back. "I cannot continue this fight, Hi'Gor. We don't know the full story of this fight. For all we know, we could be helping out the Elvanheim by fighting these people."

"That does not concern us now! We swore an oath to the Galactic Federation and we will carry it out! Elric, the controversial leader is dead. The bounty hunter tried to kill Cyrus. We have no recourse. We must take her into custody. If she resists, kill her!"

Blade was about to argue the point when several of the N'Kren soldiers opened fire on Samus and the others. Blade and Blaster did not join in the fighting, but stepped back and let their N'Kren leaders take point. Samus managed to evade the first volley of pulsating energy pulses that streaked her way from the energy weapons of the armored N'Kren soldiers. She quickly went over to try to cover Kreatz, drawing her energy pistol and returning fire to try to gauge the effectiveness of her weaponry, though she suspected that her pitiful energy pistol and plasma whip would be next to useless against the N'Kren. And she was proven correct. Her attacks did not even seem to be registered by the N'Kren soldiers, whose armor seemed to be quite tough, though not necessarily as tough as the armor worn by the Techno Lords. That was of little comfort to her, though, since she had a feeling that Kreatz's laser whips would be of limited utility. Nevertheless, he drew out the energy whips and prepared to fight. He tossed some energy rifles over to Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong and said, "I hope you know how to use these."

Captain Falcon gave a grin and took aim at the approaching soldiers. Donkey Kong also seemed to have no issues figuring out how to work the weapon. His only issue was that it was not suited to his larger hands so it was a little unwieldy for him. Still, it was better than nothing since the N'Kren were being very careful to stay out of close combat range, where the odds were a little more even. Still, the N'Kren soldiers outnumbered Samus and the others, and if Blaster and Blade entered the fray, any hope that they had of victory would be crushed. As the N'Kren soldiers approached, their leader stepped out and proclaimed, "I am Hi'Gor, leader of the N'Kren armed forces. Soldiers and ranking officers in the military have declared you traitors and have ordered your capture or execution. You are to surrender now and relinquish all of your weapons and equipment to us and to the Federation fleet in orbit now or we will be authorized to use deadly force. I give you one minute to decide."

The others then huddled together to discuss their options. "We've still got Mauk in the assault shuttle," Kreatz suggested. "That might take care of the N'Kren."

"But what about those armored warriors?" Captain Falcon asked. "So far, they're not joining their commanders, but if things get out of hand, who knows if that will change."

"We can't just surrender," Samus told them. "When I arrived here, I was fighting two adolescent Magic Lords that seemed to be pulling the strings behind Elric."

"Magic Lords?" Kreatz gasped. "On Earth?"

"With Elric," Samus corrected. "They used Elric to launch an attack on Earth. They were planning on using the Radio Tower to broadcast a song across the galaxy that would wipe out all of humanity."

"Why target the humans?" Donkey Kong asked.

"I don't know," Samus answered. "But they definitely seem to think that humanity has the potential to become dangerous enemy of theirs in the future, if it isn't already."

"Most of the Magic Lords were fused to form an entity known as the Dark Dragon," Kreatz explained. "The Dark Dragon was said to have been sealed on a far away world matching the description of Earth centuries ago, but seemingly disappeared without a trace in Earth's mid-twenty-first century. That was a huge loss to them. Chances are that they are planning something."

"And that dark Pokémon's attack would have destroyed them," Samus seemingly finished.

"Dark Pokemon?" the others asked, puzzled as to what she was talking about.

"A Pokémon that Cyrus seemed to have called to the Earth. From what I have read about Team Galactic, it was designed to try to create a new universe without emotion or pain. My guess is that this was Cyrus's goal and that the means to achieve this goal would have destroyed this one and that the Pokémon summoned by Cyrus would have initiated the destruction of the universe. Another Pokémon, Mewtwo, fought him and took him through the portal. Cyrus was also taken with them as well."

As they were still discussing what had happened and how they would face this latest dilemma, Hi'Gor's voice echoed over the pillar, "Your time is up! Surrender now or face execution!"

Samus looked back at the others and they each shook their heads harshly, indicating that they would not surrender. She smiled and they nodded. She knew that they would have her back. She then stepped forward and answered, "We won't surrender. Elric and Cyrus's treachery is too great and even though they have been dealt with, many of their subordinates are still in positions of power. The corruption that has plagued the Federation since the death of former Chairman Keaton has not yet been weeded out. We will not rest until it is!"

"Then you choose death," Hi'Gor said with a bit of regret in his voice.

"We do not choose death; for we don't plan on dying here, today," Samus answered defiantly.

"But you cannot possibly defeat us," Hi'Gor countered. "We outnumber you and greatly outclass you. You have no…ahhh!" A brief shout cut short Hi'Gor's speech as en energy pulse landed in the midst of the N'Kren and the others. A ring of energy then spread out from the epicenter of the attack and encompassed the whole N'Kren party save for the two Techno Lords, Blaster and Blade.

All conscious personnel looked up and saw another alien transport descending. It was not much larger than an Anhur-class transport that was used by the Galactic Federation, but looked much more artistic and beautiful. However, that beauty undoubtedly hid great power. "A Luminoth ship?" Blaster spoke in a hushed, questioning tone. "On Earth?"

"Did she say Luminoth?" Kreatz asked.

His question was answered as a side hatch opened on the ship and a large bipedal moth-like creature descended. Samus recognized the creature as U-Mos, the Sentinel of the whole Luminoth people. He was young by their standards, but was a powerful warrior and psychic. He landed between the two parties and projected his voice towards Hi'Gor, who was already recovering from the attack as he cried out to the others, "You have launched an attack against citizens of Earth in support of an illegitimate regime issuing and carrying out illegal orders. In addition, this regime has also committed war crimes. Fortunately, their plans were halted by Samus and others. Elric is dead and Cyrus is missing. Both are criminals. And with the death of the Speaker of the Council in the attack on Daiban, Councilman Colin Williams of Earth is the ranking Federation official and commands the Federation in their absence. And as such, he has commanded that the Federation fleet and its allies committing these illegal actions withdraw from Earth immediately or face severe consequences. Your attack here is illegal. Retreat now or risk open conflict!"

Hi'Gor gave a chuckle. "It has? Then why did the Federation fleet commander in orbit beg us to assist him in the assault?"

"Because he was desperate," Kreatz answered for U-Mos. "Elric is dead, Cyrus is doing his own thing, and he realized that the evidence against his commander could come back to hurt _him_ as well. Elric is why the Federation capital, Daiban, was destroyed, or did you not get that report?"

"The report is still unconfirmed," Hi'Gor countered.

"It certainly seems legitimate to me," U-Mos commented.

Hi'Gor motioned for Blaster and Blade to engage U-Mos and told them, "Engage him, but don't use deadly force, yet. We still need to take them into custody until everything is settled."

The two Techno Lords had no issues engaging U-Mos, though that may have been because as soon as they approached, they froze in their tracks as U-Mos used his psychic abilities to immobilize them. Two tracking devices that Samus had on her belt then left her belt and rocketed over to the Techno Lords. There, they stuck to the sides of the armor. The two soldiers did not seem to notice the tracking devices, or if they did, they did not care about them. The devices were also sensors, though, and data readouts were coming up on Kreatz's datapad. When he got the readings, his eyes went wide. Noticing his reaction, Samus asked him, "What is it?"

"Samus, those Techno Lords are human," he answered.

"What?" she blurted. The others were just as shocked as she was. "Are you sure?" came Mauk's voice over his comm.

Kreatz nodded. "Yeah."

The floating computer storage device that held Adam Malkovich also came over and a mechanical version of his voice also confirmed the scans, saying, "My scans also indicate that at the very least, Blade is human. Chances are that Blaster is as well since they seem to behave as if they are married."

Looking over at the Techno Lords, they soon saw the unconscious N'Kren soldiers begin to awaken. As they were awakening, the sounds of more ships began to fill the air. Looking up into the sky, several Anhur and Aries-class transports began to descend onto the battlefield. Soon, a voice echoed from one of the transports, declaring, "This is the Earth air-and-space force. You have violated Earth airspace. As representatives of both Earth and the Galactic Federation, we order you to withdraw from this planet immediately, or we will be authorized to use deadly force against you."

The N'Kren stared into the sky for a few seconds and soon, they saw a squadron of starfighters coming to assist the transports as well. They knew that while they had a chance of victory, that if they fought the humans, the battle would be exceedingly bloody on both sides; and that they were not guaranteed to win, especially since they knew that Blaster and Blade would not fire on their own people, and may actually fire on _them_ instead. As such, Hi'Gor replied in a loud voice, "Very well. As per your request as representatives of both Earth and the Galactic Federation, we will take our leave…for now. Know this, though, if you assist any of our enemies, or leave the protection of the Galactic Federation, then you will become our enemy once more. And that is something you wish to avoid at all costs." Once Hi'Gor was finished, he, the rest of the N'Kren, and the two Techno Lords vanished into thin air, the rush of air filling in the spaces that they had occupied producing claps. Now, they were alone with the Federation transports above them. After the N'Kren had left, the transports left the area, apparently going to other areas of the world, likely in an attempt to bring order and security to the planet.

Once they had left, U-Mos turned back to Samus and the others and approached them. He towered over the humanoids and looked down at Samus as she holstered her weapon and let out a sigh of relief. Seeing the scattered pieces of Samus's suit on the ground, he said, "This battle seems to have taken its toll on you." He then took out a scanner and scanned Samus and the others to make sure that they were not suffering from any other injuries, and he then added, "More than it would appear." Looking at Samus, he continued. "There appear to be some instabilities in your DNA, along with dangerous DNA strands as well. You must come with me. We must cure you and stabilize your DNA."

U-Mos offered Samus his hand. "You saved us before," he told her. "Now it's time for us to return the favor. Besides, there's someone who has been waiting quite a while to see you once more."

"Who?"

U-Mos gave a kind smile to Samus. "You'll find out when you get there. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

Samus then accepted his hand and they proceeded to make their way to his transport. Kreatz, however, followed and blurted, "Hey, where are you taking her?"

"To Aether," the Luminoth Sentinel responded. "Samus is in need of medical attention: medical attention that the Galactic Federation currently does not have the ability to provide. She has human, Chozo, Metroid, and even X-Parasite DNA inside of her. We must remove the X-Parasite DNA safely and reintegrate the Metroid DNA inside of her safely so she will not suffer the any of the Metroids' vulnerabilities like the ones that she is experiencing now. You are welcome to come with us, if you want. In fact, I recommend that you follow us, for you know a great deal about what has happened here on Earth; and we will need to know everything that has happened before we commit to any course of action."

Kreatz thought about U-Mos's offer for a moment before Mauk came in over the comm and said, "Do it. I'm going to go if allowed."

Eventually, Kreatz then told U-Mos, "Okay. After all, Samus will need to have someone she knows."

Samus smiled as Kreatz went over to the shuttle to board it so it could follow them to Aether. Adam then floated a little behind her as she made her way over to the Luminoth transport. As they were leaving, Captain Falcon went over to Donkey Kong and told him, "Looks like it's just us now. I'll call over my ship and take you back to…Donkey Kong Isle is it?"

"Yeah," the muscular ape replied. The two then waited for Captain Falcon's ship to arrive. As they waited, they watched as Samus boarded the Luminoth transport. After boarding the transport, the ship began to rise. As soon as it was out of sight, the two heroes glanced over at each other and Captain Falcon said, "Before we go home, we have to talk about this Chosen Hero thing that we overheard on the shuttle. Samus was one of them, and chances are that whoever was fighting the enemy in the sky was also a Chosen Hero."

Donkey Kong nodded. While he would not admit it, he was greatly concerned about the recent events that had transpired. The first thing he would do when he got back to Donkey Kong Island would be to inform his friends and family over what had just happened and that they should be careful. He knew that whatever was going on up in space was not over yet, and the outcome of the conflict would have tremendous ramifications.

In a realm outside of the normal Nintendo Universe, the Magic Lords gazed into a massive crystal ball and witnessed the battle between Mewtwo and Dark Arceus, including the disappearance of both enemies into the swirling vortex, as well as the disappearance of the frozen Aglara and Aramon. One of them, a strong middle-aged male with blond hair, growled, "Grr, Aglara and Aramon have revealed themselves and have been lost."

"It is not as bad as it may look," another male, one with dark hair, that stood at over seven feet in height, replied. "One of the strongest of the Chosen Heroes has been taken into the vortex as well. Without him, the Heroes will have difficulty against us."

"Perhaps," the first male answered. "But the others are now aware of our existence as well and will talk to our enemies, such as the Chozo and the Luminoth."

"Perhaps. But without strong heroes like Mewtwo and the Chosen Four, they will be hard-pressed to defeat us, especially if we are discrete in our actions."

The other Magic Lord nodded. They then went back to looking into their crystal ball, and formulating their plans for the future. Right now, though, they were content to merely watch, and wait.

Meanwhile, inside the realm of the swirling vortex, Mewtwo looked around and found himself in a zone with a single pipe that was easily large enough to hold someone his size seemingly in the center of the realm that looked to be a hundred yards away or so. He had a feeling that it was much farther away, though. He also felt a refreshing sensation wash over him as he realized that he had been fully rejuvenated. He then looked ahead and saw the glowing eyes of Dark Arceus. Dark Arceus grinned and he floated towards Mewtwo. "Heh, heh, heh," he laughed. "I've been fully rejuvenated, Mewtwo. Now, you're gonna die."

"No," Mewtwo answered confidently. "If you continue this battle again, it will be _you_ who will die."

"Me? Are you nuts?" Dark Arceus blurted. "You were barely able to stalemate me back on Earth. I was easily holding my own against you and you used up more energy against me than I used against you!"

Mewtwo then gave a dark smile. "Yes, but that was when I was on Earth and having to focus my energy tightly so that I would not risk damaging the planet. Here, I have no such restrictions." He then smiled once more as his eyes began to glow a deep blue. Dark Arceus then began to look worried as a blue aura surrounded Mewtwo. He floated back a few feet and he began to sweat. "Let's end this," Mewtwo declared. "Once and for all!" With that, Mewtwo used Calm Mind to increase his already incredible strength, and prepared to launch a full powered Psystrike against Dark Arceus. Only now, did Dark Arceus suddenly realize just how powerful Mewtwo really was.

On the outskirts of Federation Space, on a colony world designated Z-2O, a human governor was making his way back to the office after a long day. The colony was set up to mine the valuable mineral, Afloraltite. However, the recent yields had been less than what he, or the Federation, had been hoping for. He had received word about Elric's treachery and had scarcely believed what he had heard. The miners, upon hearing the report, were infuriated, especially since some of them had been refugees from Daiban. Even though the governor was not an appointee of Elric, he felt as if there was about to be a huge change in the Council, and on the local scene as well.

He did not dwell on those thoughts, though, as he went back to his office in order to clock out and then drive home. He was close to the door when he saw a light emanating from his office. At first, he was apprehensive, for his office light had been turned off at the time. He approached the door with trepidation as he drew his defensive side arm. He then thrust open the door and, much to his surprise, he found the Chairman of the Galactic Federation, Cyrus, standing there in front of him. He gasped at the sight of Cyrus, who was reported to have been dead, as he looked no worse for the wear. Cyrus was not in a celebratory mood, though, as he said coldly, "Bring me a ship. I need to get to _Federation One_ as soon as possible. There is much work that needs to be done and I don't have a lot of time to do it."

"Yes sir," the governor said as he rushed outside so as to get the Chairman of the Galactic Federation Council a starship. After he left, Cyrus grimaced. He was far away from Earth and he knew that the planet was almost certainly going to fortify its defenses and that taking the planet would be difficult.

As he was about to follow the Chairman, a purple vortex appeared before him. Coming from the vortex was a figurine of the Alpha Pokémon, Arceus. This Arceus, however, had the normal white fur, and was standing on a trophy stand. It was only about a third of the size of the Pokémon in real life. A mysterious voice soon echoed from the vortex as the figure appeared and said, "This is a trophy of Arceus. Bring it to life by tapping its base. Use it when you retake Earth to fulfill your wishes."

After the voice had spoken, the rift closed. Cyrus collected the trophy, which shrunk in his hand until it was small enough to carry in his pocket. After placing the figurine in his pocket, he grinned. He had another chance to fulfill his dreams. Now all he had to do was conquer Earth, and he had the perfect weapon necessary for doing so: the Galactic Federation.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

U-Mos's ship emerged from subspace over the planet Aether almost one hour after it had departed from Earth. The trip up through the Earth's atmosphere and into orbit, where they had made their jump, had been free of incident. The Galactic Federation ships that had been in orbit had made no attempt to intercept them or shoot them down. In fact, the N'Kren ships had been in the process of withdrawing from the planet when U-Mos's ship had entered warp. There had not been any Ylla ships present, though, which U-Mos had thought strange at the time, since the N'Kren and the Ylla had kept in close contact with each other.

Upon emerging from subspace, U-Mos's scanners picked up a small Galactic Federation fleet orbiting Aether. A few seconds later, the assault shuttle that Kreatz and Mauk were piloting also emerged from warp. Upon spotting the Federation fleet and the fact that U-Mos was still headed towards said fleet, Kreatz opened channel to U-Mos's ship and blurted, "What are you doing? Those are Galactic Federation ships! They might be enemies!" Samus was unsure of what to think, though she quickly noticed that the Federation ships, and the fighters that were flying in holding patterns around the fleet were not making any hostile moves towards them.

"Don't worry Kreatz," U-Mos replied calmly. "They are allies."

As the transport flew past one of the larger ships in the fleet, Samus was reassured, since she clearly saw the name, _G.F.S. Olympus_ pasted on the side of the ship. That was Castor Dane's ship. And she figured that this was his fleet as well. Looking out the view port, she clearly saw no less than two-dozen Federation capital ships orbiting the planet, with at least two Olympus-class battleships being part of the fleet. "What's going on?" Samus asked.

"You'll find out once we reach the ground," U-Mos answered. "Needless to say, things are changing, and not necessarily for the better."

U-Mos left Samus with that dark thought as he returned his attention to piloting the transport into the atmosphere. They were quickly followed by Kreatz and Mauk's shuttle, which provided cover for them, just on the off chance that there was a surprise attack in the works. So far, however, everything seemed to be fine and Samus settled in as U-Mos's ship made its way towards the atmosphere. She could already tell that the planet was recovering from the Ing War and the Phazon Crisis, with some assistance by the Galactic Federation. It had been under Chairman Keaton's tenure that the Federation had helped Aether and the Luminoth. This was not something that would have been done by Elric, and especially not by Cyrus. Samus had noticed that the Federation was changing, and it was not for the better. She hoped, though, that the presence of Admiral Dane's fleet was also indicative that the rest of the worlds in the Federation had seen this change and wanted it to return to a less corrupt and more benevolent society. Though many of the worlds in the Federation were more than willing to help out neighbors in need, regardless of whether or not the Council sent any ships to assist.

The ship then entered the atmosphere with barely a shudder. U-Mos piloted the ship through a large mass of clouds until he came close to the ground. Once he was within sight of the ground, he decelerated the transport and began to turn out of his dive. From there, he leveled the ship and proceeded towards the Great Temple, the capital of the Luminoth.

The trip to the Great Temple took merely a few minutes. As they approached the temple, Samus could already see a crowd assembled near the landing platform that they were told to land on. The ship soon made its way over to the platform and once it was above it, it stopped and hovered over the platform for a moment before slowly descended to the surface, extending its landing pads. After a few moments, the ship landed softly and U-Mos powered down its systems and opened its boarding ramp. U-Mos, Samus, and the rest of the crew of the transport walked down the ramp and onto the platform. On the platform were two other Luminoth, an elderly Chozo, and what looked to be an Ascended Chozo to the elderly Chozo's right. Samus immediately recognized the elderly Chozo as being Old Bird. Looking to the Chozo's right she saw another familiar face in the form of Gray Voice, who appeared to be a Chozo Ghost. "Old Bird! Gray Voice!" she called out as she ran down the ramp and to her adoptive parent, in the form of Gray Voice, and caretaker and trainer in the form of Old Bird. When she arrived, she gave each of them a fierce hug. "I can't believe it! You've come back!"

"Yes, Samus," Old Bird said, looking at her affectionately. "You've grown so much since you left Zebes. You have grown into a strong young woman."

Samus gave a smile but did not say anything. She still felt the loss of her Omega Fusion Suit, which had been built upon the remains of her Chozo Power Suit at its full power. While she was still formidable without her suit, with it, she was far more powerful. "You have done both the Chozo and humanity proud," Gray Voice added. "I am proud to be able to call you my child."

"Thank you, Gray," the bounty hunter answered.

Soon, the sound of Kreatz and Mauk's assault shuttle echoed over the platform as the shuttle descended and landed on the other end of the platform. As Kreatz and Mauk exited their shuttle and joined the party, Samus asked her Chozo mentors, "What brings you to Aether?"

"The same thing that brings the Galactic Federation Seventh Fleet," the familiar voice of Admiral Castor Dane answered from behind them as he stepped out onto the platform and saluted the Chozo, Luminoth, and Samus. "I'm sorry about coming out so soon, but I thought you all needed to hear this."

"What is the problem," U-Mos asked, stepping forward towards the admiral.

"We've just received word from the outskirts of Federation Space that Cyrus has been found alive and he has called _Federation One_ to an frontier colony world, planet Z-2O."

"Cyrus? Alive?" Samus, Kreatz, and Mauk cried out in unison. "How?" Kreatz asked. "Even if he survived in that other realm, how did he manage to get out of there?"

"Was there anyone, or anything else, with him?" Samus asked quickly. She figured that the only way out of that realm for Cyrus would be Dark Arceus taking him back to the universe; and that would likely mean that he was able to defeat Mewtwo.

Admiral Dane shook his head. "No, there have been no reports of anyone else with him. He was just found in the room of the governor of the colony. He was said to have been found a few hours ago. He has since boarded _Federation One_ and is giving a speech. I think you all should hear it."

With that, the others filed into the temple, and into a large hall towards a light at the end of the tunnel, which led to an assembly chamber. As they walked down the hall, the sound of Cyrus's voice was filling the hallway. They were able to hear bits and pieces of what he was saying, but not everything. As they arrived at the door to the next room, the door slid open and the large room opened up before them.

Inside the room was a large table where several Galactic Federation Marines, Luminoth, a couple Chozo, and an Ascended Chozo stood. The voice of Cyrus was blaring over the speakers as Samus recognized the background on the screen as being that of the assembly chamber of _Federation One_. They had joined Cyrus mid-speech as he was saying, "…and with everything that has happened in the last few days, I must call upon all members of the Galactic Federation to unify. The loss of Daiban was a tragedy, and one that must never be forgotten. And what Elric did to gain power is unforgivable. However, there are other enemies among us as well. An ancient enemy known as the Magic Lords has been revealed, and they are still powerful. They were quite willing to use their puppet, former Chairman Elric, to further their own agenda, and while the Magic Lords that were on Earth have since disappeared from the planet, their deaths have yet to be confirmed. Personally, I feel as if they are still alive and that they will return, soon. I had a plan that would have, if successful, destroyed them. But there was a complication: the bounty hunter Samus Aran and the people of Earth. She prevented the initial plan from being successful and the people of Earth drove me off the world after my initial plan had failed, and into another realm, which required a miracle for me to escape." Samus looked on with dread as she knew what he was going to say next. "Even better, is that I know what must be done to eliminate this threat to the Federation, the galaxy, and even the entire universe. However, I cannot do it without help. Now is the time for us to band together. I need your help to get to Earth, should it not agree to allow us on it to destroy this ancient enemy, and help us all accomplish this great dream! I intend to make Earth the seat of the new Galactic Federation. Together, we can make a better universe, one without pain, one without suffering, one without evil! Let us all strive to create a perfect universe!" And with that, Cyrus stepped down from the podium to the ovation of thunderous applause.

After he had stepped down, the screen went blank. The others glanced around at the table apprehensively. "Well, what do you think?" Admiral Dane asked.

"Cyrus's goal is what he said it is," Samus answered. "The issue is that in order to create this perfect universe, one without pain, suffering, or evil; this one will have to be sacrificed. That was what he, or rather, Dark Arceus, was in the process of doing when Dark Arceus was engaged by Mewtwo. I merely kept the two Magic Lords at bay. I have a feeling that Cyrus does not care about them and is only using their existence to further his own agenda."

"That much was obvious," Old Bird said. "I have seen that look in the eyes of sentients before. I saw that look in the eye of Mother Brain on Zebes before we abandoned the planet."

"This will be made worse by the fact that many races were originally created by the Magic Lords," Gray Voice added. "When the Magic Lords were pushed to the brink by the PSI Lords and fused into the Dark Dragon, the rest of the species that had been under their yoke were suddenly freed. They will jump at the opportunity to wipe out the Magic Lords, for they will never bow to their former masters again."

"We can both vouch for that," Kreatz and Mauk added.

"And it will be even worse since those that were not made by the Magic Lords won't know the history of the Enemy, and thus, can be misled by someone like Cyrus or his supporters," U-Mos said in a melancholy voice.

"But there _is_ a silver lining," Samus told them. "Cyrus isn't at Earth yet. And Earth has its own group of allies who know of his past as the leader of Team Galactic. They will be very hesitant to give Earth to him. If it comes to a shooting conflict, Earth won't stand alone."

"No, they will not," both Old Bird and U-Mos stated in unison. "The Chozo Remnant will stand with the humans of Earth."

"As will the Ascended Chozo," Gray Voice added.

"Add the Luminoth to that as well," U-Mos declared.

"And the Federation Seventh Fleet," Admiral Dane added.

Samus then looked at Kreatz and Mauk, and then back at the others. Kreatz then spoke for the three of them, saying, "You all clearly know that we're with you."

Just then, a beep sounded in the room. "We're receiving another transmission," U-Mos said. "This one seems to be coming from Earth."

"Put it on," Admiral Dane requested.

The screen then flashed on once more. The image of Councilman Colin Williams, along with Earth President Jonathan Richardson, and several other members of the Federation Council, including Madeline Powell, appeared. After a few seconds, Councilman Colin Williams began his speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Earth, Mars, the Solar Colonies, Aliehs III, Corella Five, and the rest of the Galactic Federation; as you all must have heard by now, Cyrus is still alive and well, and is now the Chairman of the Galactic Federation. In addition, you all heard that he wishes to come to Earth to finish what he started, ostensibly, the destruction of the Magic Lords. While that end would, indeed, be a great service to the galaxy, the price would have been too high: the potential destruction of the entire universe, and the almost certain destruction of Earth and its current population of six billion people. Cyrus has tried this before." An image of files on Cyrus, in addition of video footage of the appearance of two Pokémon that Samus suspected were Dialga and Palkia appeared on the screen. "Several months before the death of former Chairman Keaton, Cyrus, who was not involved in politics at the time, attempted to do what he tried to do on Earth mere hours ago. He attempted to summon two creatures, Pokémon called Dialga and Palkia, and have them create a new universe for him: a universe without pain, suffering, evil, emotion, and spirit. Back then, he used the same rhetoric to gather an army of followers to him and created a criminal organization known as Team Galactic. Fortunately, he was stopped by a group of Pokémon Trainers and Giratina before his plans could come to fruition, and trapped in the Distortion World for a time. But he escaped that world and returned to our universe, and now, it has been revealed that he has been trying to accomplish this goal ever since his return. To that end, neither I, nor President Richardson will allow him or his forces access to Earth. We will not sacrifice our world, galaxy, or universe for his schemes." The Councilman gave a pause and the images of Samus fighting the Magic Lords and Elric appeared on the screen. "He has already lied once about Samus, for she was vehemently fighting against the Magic Lords and Elric, not alongside them, and supported Mewtwo against Dark Arceus. The only reason we are all still alive today is because of the actions of Mewtwo and Samus. We the people of Earth have always been wary of Cyrus, and Elric, and now it is known to be for good reason. Since Cyrus has taken control of the Galactic Federation Council, the people of Earth, Mars, the Solar Colonies, Aliehs III, and Corella Five, have, with great reluctance, decided to secede from the current Galactic Federation and form a new government that, until Cyrus is either brought to justice, steps down, or is otherwise dealt with and we are able to safely and with no fear for losing our honor or who we are, reintegrate into the Federation, will be known as the Federation in Exile. It is with great sadness and trepidation that we have taken these steps, but until honor is restored to the Galactic Federation Council, and the Federation as a whole, we feel as if we can no longer be a part of this governmental entity that has falsely been calling itself the Galactic Federation ever since the death of former Chairman Elric almost two years ago." After a moment, the former Councilman, and now likely Chairman of the Federation in Exile, said, "I will now take questions."

The screen went blank once more and Admiral Dane turned to the others and said, "It's begun."

The others nodded solemnly. Indeed it had. The Galactic Federation was splintering. Samus could not help but wonder if this had been the Magic Lords' plan all along; or at least a contingency plan should their plan against Earth fail. This was almost certainly not the end of the secessions. She knew that the Luminoth, the Chozo Remnant, and the Ascended Chozo would be on the side of Earth and the Federation in Exile. She also had the bad feeling that the N'Kren would certainly side with Cyrus, and that the Ylla would likely side with Cyrus as well, due to the N'Kren siding with him. In addition, she believed that Admiral Dane's fleet would not be the only one to side with Earth, either. The Federation Army also had ships of its own. She suspected that there would be some Army regiments that would fight for Earth, rather than Cyrus. And there was the fact that Earth was so heavily defended. In fact, all of the seceding worlds, so far, had stronger than average defenses. Taking them would be highly difficult. Old Bird and Gray Voice soon cut into her reverie when they said, "Well, we've got some work ahead of us. But right now, the important thing is to stabilize your DNA."

"What will you do?" Samus asked.

"We will stabilize the Metroid DNA inside of you and properly reintegrate into your genetic code. It will be done so in a way, though, that allows you to merely retain your immunity to X-Parasites, while not suffering from a Metroid's crippling weakness to cold. However, you won't enjoy any of the other benefits of Metroid DNA, such as leeching life energy from others. However, you will be able to use weapons like the Ice Beam once more and you won't suffer hypothermia merely from standing in areas that are forty degrees Fahrenheit without your armor."

"That's fine with me," she told them. "When do we start?"

"Right now, if you're ready," Old Bird replied.

"I am."

Old Bird and Gray Voice both smiled. "Good," they said. As they went back to the medical ward along with U-Mos, they talked to Samus, beginning with, "By the way, once we're finished stabilizing your DNA, we'll have to design a new suit for you. And you'll almost certainly want to design a new gunship for yourself." Samus only smiled as they continued to talk at length about her plans and on what she would do during this crisis.

Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy, onboard _Federation One_, Cyrus sat in the Presidential Suite onboard the ship. He took out the trophy of Arceus, still shrunk in its pocket-sized form, and sat it on his desk. He glanced over at computer and saw a message on the screen. He moved the mouse pointer onto the message and clicked on it. The message read:

_To Chairman Cyrus,_

_Congratulations on your promotion to the Chairmanship of the Galactic Federation Council. We trust that you have received an adjustable size trophy of the Alpha Pokémon, Arceus. You will need two such Pokémon in order to accomplish your objective of being able to get a Dialga and Palkia, which will be necessary for your universe to be created. We have sent another trophy to Earth. It is currently in the possession of your associate, Charon. You must get to Earth, yourself. Between the Magic Lords reappearance, and the other people of Earth turning on you and us being unable to assist you directly, you will be on your own in your quest, save for your forces. This message was delivered in order to let you know that with the two Arceus trophies, your dreams can come true._

Cyrus saw no signature. Nevertheless, he decided to make a call to Charon to see if he had received a trophy. He input a command into his computer and soon, the face of Charon appeared on the screen.

"Chairman Cyrus!" Charon exclaimed, surprised at the sight of his leader. "Why have you called so soon?"

"Charon, did you receive a trophy of Arceus recently?" Cyrus asked curtly.

Charon's eyes flashed with surprise. "Why, yes," he answered, showing Cyrus the trophy. Cyrus gave a dark grin at the sight. "How did you know?"

"That's not important right now," the Chairman replied. "What is important now is that you research everything about Arceus and the Creation Trio. I will do my best to unite the Federation against Earth and its allies. Until I come, you are the Galactic Federation representative on Earth. _You_ are in charge there, for now."

"Understood, Cyrus," Charon answered.

Cyrus then closed the channel and began to consider his options. He knew that taking Earth would be incredibly difficult. It was the birthworld of humanity and he knew that the rest of humanity would flock to defend it, especially since former Councilman Williams made his speech. Given Elric's criminal activities, and that he was associated with Elric, he knew that there was no guarantee that other Federation worlds would not secede, or become neutral, being willing to offer aid and supplies to either side. In addition, Earth was incredibly well defended, even more so than Daiban had been. Taking the planet would be exceedingly costly in terms of manpower and equipment. While he would not have issue with losing fleet after fleet of ships to take Earth if that was what it took to take the planet, he knew that the rest of the Council would. And if the Council did not approve of his actions, there could be trouble. He could always dissolve of the Council, but that would bring its own problems if he did so this soon. He would probably have to wait for that. Then he remembered the N'Kren and the Ylla: precursor races with technology on the level of the Chozo and the Luminoth. A grin then twisted his lips. He had options. And if he needed even more help, he could call upon the Cornerians and the Star Fox Team as well. And if worst came to worst, he could call upon the Space Pirates for help.

He proceeded to open a channel to the N'Kren homeworld, hoping that they would at least respond. Surprisingly, after a few seconds, the image of the N'Kren armed forces commander, Hi'Gor appeared on the screen. "Cyrus," Hi'Gor stated plainly, giving a bow. "I have actually been expecting your call. What is it that you need?"

"The Galactic Federation needs your help in getting Earth to rejoin the Federation," Cyrus answered.

"As we have already told your predecessor, we may not intervene in internal matters," the N'Kren commander responded.

"Yes, but Earth is no longer a part of the Galactic Federation," Cyrus told him. This news seemed to surprise Hi'Gor. "It and several other planets have seceded from the Federation and have formed their own little alliance."

"Are you sure?" Hi'Gor was uncertain as to whether or not Cyrus was correct.

"They declared their secession merely an hour or so ago," Cyrus told him.

He then saw Hi'Gor's lips twist into what passed for a grin among his people. "Then we will have no problem assisting you in battle against Earth. We are enemies of the Magic Lords and they must be destroyed, no matter the cost. Tell us what you need and when you need us."

"Right now, I'd rather keep the N'Kren out of the direct fighting. However, I am aware of the fact that you have several Federation citizens in your armed forces, with two of them being Techno Lords."

"That is correct," Hi'Gor replied, nodding.

"I request that they to be returned to Federation space if that is not too great of an inconvenience."

"It won't be," Hi'Gor answered. "They are Federation citizens, after all. I'm certain that they will have no problems with this arrangement."

"Thank you Hi'Gor. Your help will be remembered," Cyrus responded. He then closed the channel and sat back in the chair as the image of the N'Kren armed forces commander disappeared.

Once the transmission had been cut, he quickly input a new series of commands into the computer. He opened another comm channel and this time, the Space Pirate commander, Ridley, appeared on the screen. "You?" Ridley roared as he stared into the eyes of Cyrus. "Figures, with the death of Elric and all. What do you want?"

"I am well aware of my predecessor's contact and activities with the Space Pirates," Cyrus began. "I trust that we can maintain this relationship discretely."

"Sure," Ridley answered with a huge grin. "But it's going to cost you. I want eleven million Gold Credits and a cruiser-class warship as payment."

"The credits I can give you," Cyrus replied, almost growling. "However, I cannot give you the cruiser at this time. However, I will be getting a hold of some other weapons that you could use that will be well worth it."

"What weapons?" Ridley asked, eager to hear more of what Cyrus was offering.

"I might gain possession of armored soldiers that work for the N'Kren and will be loyal to the Galactic Federation. With some Space Pirate reprogramming, they could become _Space Pirate_ armored soldiers. These soldiers use N'Kren technology, technology that is on a par with ancient Chozo technology," Cyrus responded with a grin. He knew he had Ridley. The Space Dragon would not be able to resist the prospect of gaining technology of a precursor race. "Oh, one more thing. The two Techno Lords that I will give you just happen to be human survivors of the attack on planet K-2L."

"K-2L?" Ridley gasped.

The Chairman nodded. "Apparently, some of the people were, as the N'Kren said, salvageable. They have since either been turned into Techno Knights or the more powerful versions, Techno Lords."

"You _will_ give me those Techno Lords as soon as they are available," Ridley declared. "That will be my price."

"It shall be done," Cyrus answered. The transmission was then cut. Finally, Cyrus could sit back and begin making plans to conquer the Earth, and complete the orbital ring that was currently under construction over the planet.

Back in the vortex dimension, Dark Arceus was thrown back by an explosion that resulted from the collision of his attack with Mewtwo's Psystrike. Despite his attack's type advantage, Mewtwo's Calm Mind power ups had allowed the strength of his attack to equal Dark Arceus's Final Judgment. Dark Arceus used his power to stop his momentum and focused back on Mewtwo, who had just disappeared and reappeared directly in front of him and fired a point blank Aura Sphere. Dark Arceus gave a cry as he was forced back by the attack and took severe damage from it. "Damn you," he swore.

Mewtwo merely grinned as he launched another Aura Sphere at the evil Pokémon. This time, Dark Arceus was able to raise a shield over himself and limit the damage dealt by the Aura Sphere, but still, some of the damage was able to bleed through the shield. However, with both of them rejuvenated, yet with Mewtwo already having used Calm Mind and constantly attacking Dark Arceus in order to prevent him from being able to use Calm Mind in order to increase his own Special Attack and Special Defense, in addition to Mewtwo's Pressure ability, which forced him to use more energy with each technique than would normally be required, he knew that in a battle of attrition, that he would lose. He had to make it so that the winner of this battle would be decided right here, right now.

Dark Arceus then proceeded to power an extremely large purple ball of energy in front of his mouth. He pushed all of his energy into the attack that he could, practically daring Mewtwo to counter his attack. He knew that Mewtwo's Psystrike was not able to damage him due to him being a Dark type Pokémon. However, Mewtwo's Aura Sphere had the type advantage, and the Psychic type Pokémon did not have to worry about damaging the surrounding area. As he powered the attack, he cried, "It ends now, Mewtwo! Now die with Final Judgment!" Dark Arceus then launched the Final Judgment attack into the air. The purple ball rose into the sky and once it reached the apex of its climb, it split into a dozen meteors.

Mewtwo watched the attack coming towards him and he powered a Psystrike since only that would be able to repulse the attack, despite the fact that he would not be able to inflict any damage to the Dark type Pokémon. Blue waves of energy formed in front of him and he launched it them towards the oncoming meteors of Final Judgment. The waves collided with the meteors and the two attacks were suspended in midair. Mewtwo strained against the power and type advantage of the Final Judgment as Dark Arceus smiled. "What are you gonna do now, Mewtwo? You can't use any other attacks to defeat me, for your only other option is Aura Sphere, which won't block the other meteors. And you can't survive an assault from all of my meteors. It's over, I've…" but before he could finish, Mewtwo appeared directly in front of him, with an Aura Sphere already powered in his right hand.

"Oh, sh-…" Dark Arceus attempted to swear as Mewtwo shoved the Aura Sphere into his head, penetrating his shield and burrowing itself into his head. However, he was unable to get the final word out, for the Aura Sphere had already taken off his head. Once it had beheaded the evil Pokémon, it exploded in a massive display of energy, utterly destroying Dark Arceus. Behind Mewtwo, the rest of the Final Judgment attack finished its course and a massive explosion erupted from behind the psychic pokemon. He knew that the explosion of Dark Arceus's Final Judgment would likely kill him so he simply sighed as the blast wave approached. However, this would not be his time to die. Not yet. A green pipe appeared in midair in front of him and, seeing no better alternative, he entered the pipe, a strange sound echoing forth as he entered.

The interior of the pipe was a small tunnel that was no more than a few meters long. At the other end of the pipe was a shining light. When he stepped out of the other end of the pipe, the same strange sound echoing upon his exit, he found himself in what looked like a sewer system, not the shining field of light that he was expecting. He glanced behind him as the pipe retreated into the wall. He then looked forward and saw the seething figures of Aramon and Aglara standing before him. He grimaced at the sight of them. He was already weary from his battle with Dark Arceus, whose body fell through another pipe a dozen or so meters away. The adolescent Magic Lords, however, grinned at the sight of him.

"Finally," Aglara said menacingly. "Finally, you will die! The Warp Zone is a place outside of time and space. You will not age here, and you're trapped here with us as well. And here is where you will die."

"No, I won't," Mewtwo replied with a confident grin. He then assumed a fighter's stance and his eyes began to glow. These two were not Dark type Legendary Pokémon. And from what he gathered from his cursory scan, they were quite vulnerable to psychic power. He then prepared to launch a Psystrike on the Magic Lords. While he was tired from his battle, he still knew that he could defeat two adolescent Magic Lords. Before he attacked, though, the Magic Lords proceeded to charge him. He deftly dodged their attacks and smiled as he turned to face them again. The Magic Lords scowled. Suddenly, they were beginning to realize that Mewtwo was neither as tired, nor as weak, as they had initially believed.

Meanwhile, in a dimension outside of the Nintendo Universe, Master Hand, a large gloved white right hand, watched the happenings of the Nintendo Universe through a massive media center. Many view screens filled the large television set. Sitting at the television set was a tall, muscular humanoid with green skin, orange hair, and a long nose, wearing black armor and a cape, named Ganondorf. He looked back at Master Hand and noted, "It seems as if everything is going well, so far."

"So it would seem," Master Hand replied.

"I have one question, though," Ganondorf began. "Why did you send a Smash Ball to Samus over on planet Earth? She would have been defeated by the N'Kren soldiers before the others realized who she was."

"The death of Dark Arceus took priority and the only way that transport would have been shot down and given Mewtwo a chance against the Dark Omega Pokémon would have been to intervene directly."

"But surely the two of us together should be able to defeat a weakened Dark Arceus," Ganondorf commented. "We could have even taken care of the other heroes while we were at it."

"But that would have left little resistance to the Magic Lords, or Elvanheim as they were known before, in Milky Way," Master Hand countered sagely. "If the Magic Lords managed to create a new Dark Dragon, everything would suffer. Even us. Remember, the Triforce of Power in your hand is only a copy made with my power, and the technology of Smash World. The original was lost in your final battle against the Hero of Time. As it stands now, the only heroes that can go toe to toe with an adult Magic Lord in at least a one-on-one fight are Mewtwo and the psychic members of the Chosen Four. Other Chosen Heroes can utilize weapons designed to defeat them, but in the end, they are still quite vulnerable to the Magic Lords in the process of using said weapons. Without the powers of the Chosen and Mewtwo supporting them, they would be easy pickings for the Elvanheim. There are only so many, so-called gods and goddesses that have to power to give the Magic Lords a bloody nose should it come down to an all out war. These heroes are necessary for the future. Besides, the upcoming war against the Magic Lords alone will kill many of the heroes. We will still be able to accomplish our objectives."

That answer seemed to satisfy Ganondorf slightly. He still believed that the forces that he and Master Hand commanded would be sufficient to defeat the Magic Lords, especially with their access to the technology of Smash World. "So, Master Hand, what are your orders?" Ganondorf asked.

"Monitor the situations in Milky Way further, especially on Earth and near Lylat," the hand answered. "Also, make sure to keep an eye on the Mushroom Kingdom and the kingdom of Hyrule on the planet Hylia."

Ganondorf grinned. "Yes, Master," he answered with a sinister tone as he bowed before the hand. As he returned to his station, Master Hand wondered if Ganondorf could tell that the real reason he wanted Samus to survive was because she, and the other Chosen Heroes, were the best hope for freedom from _his_ master.

Back on Aether, Samus was in the medical ward of the Great Temple, recovering from the operation to stabilize her Metroid DNA. She was dressed in a white hospital robe as she sat in recovery. Old Bird, Gray Voice, and a Luminoth medic were attending to her needs, and were going over various readings at the moment when Kreatz and Mauk entered the room. They almost instantly spotted Samus and rushed over to her bed. "Samus!" Kreatz blurted as he hugged her. "So, how did it go?"

She looked over his shoulder towards Gray Voice, who answered, "The operation was successful; more so than even we would have initially believed."

"So you aren't crippled by cold anymore?" Mauk asked.

Samus smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm back to my old self. I'm not crippled by a cool room anymore."

"Good!" they both blurted. "So, when will we get back into action?"

"Samus will be going back to work after we've built her next Power Suit and designed her next starship at the earliest," Old Bird answered.

Samus looked back at him questioningly. "I know what you're thinking, my child. You want to help Earth and the others, but you must remain here until you are ready. Cyrus won't make his move against Earth too quickly. He first needs to know who his allies and his enemies are. He'll want to assemble a massive fleet for the fight as well. He can't take Earth with only a few hundred warships. The minefield that Earth is likely to deploy will be enough to take care of a fleet of that size."

"I know," Samus replied quietly. "But we can't just sit around and do nothing. Cyrus came this close," she pinched her fingers to the point where they were almost touching, "to destroying the Earth at the very least, and possibly the universe."

"We won't," Old Bird assured her. "We just have to be careful about how we go about doing things."

Samus nodded in agreement. "So, let's get to work on designing and building that new Power Suit of yours," Old Bird offered jovially.

Samus gave a smile as she went to follow him and Gray Voice out of the ward when Admiral Dane came running into the ward. Once he arrived near Samus and the two Chozo, he stopped to catch his breath. "Samus," he heaved. "Come with me. There's something you have to see!" Samus raised her eyebrows as Admiral Dane began to lead them towards the main assembly chamber once more. Curious as to what he was talking about, Samus followed the admiral, with Old Bird and Gray Voice following behind.

Once they arrived in the assembly room, they looked at the image of various humans on the large view screen. Even more surprising was the fact that each of the humans was wearing clothing with the emblem of K-2L on their left sleeves. Standing around the screen were several Federation technicians, and a hologram of Adam Malkovich. "This is the data we have gained from the tracking devices placed on the Techno Lords," one of the male human Federation technicians explained. "The N'Kren are having a discussion with a group of human Techno Knights, and their Techno Lord commanders."

Samus and the others then listened closely to what everyone was saying. "You have been requested to go back to Federation space by Chairman Cyrus, himself."

"Cyrus? I'm not familiar with him," one of the humans, a male in his mid thirties said.

"He's the new Chairman of the Galactic Federation," a familiar voice called out from behind. Samus recognized it as being the voice of Blade.

The others turned and saluted Blade, and his partner, Blaster, as they walked among them. They were still in their armor. They then stood in front of the other Techno Knights and a golden sheen shone around their armor. The armor of the Techno Lords promptly disappeared and standing in their place were two humans, one male, the other female, both looked to be in their late thirties to early forties, but were actually in their mid fifties. The male had brown hair, gray eyes and wore a white shirt and pants with tag that read, _K-2L_ on the upper left part of his chest. The woman wore almost identical clothing, along with the same emblem on her chest. She, however, had blond hair and blue eyes. Both of the Techno Lords wore gold rings on their ring fingers, indicating that they were married. Samus's eyes went wide as she saw the faces of the two Techno Lords she had fought, for she instantly recognized them as being her own parents. She simply stared at the screen, as did Old Bird and Gray Voice. "But how?" she heard Old Bird and Gray Voice ask in unison. "We detected no other sentient lifeforms on the planet."

"It is possible that they had been killed and their brain activity had either ceased or was so minimal that your sensors could not detect it," U-Mos offered. "We use stasis tubes to preserve people in such condition until we can get them to medical bays that have the technology to revive them."

They all then turned to Samus, who was still staring at her parents as they were talking to the N'Kren leader. She was not listening to what they were saying; she just stared. "Are those my parents?" she asked almost as if her voice were mere wisps of wind.

"It certainly seems like it," Adam Malkovich answered, moving towards Samus. "Their voices match and while they do look young, according to U-Mos, the N'Kren and the Ylla are close, with the Ylla having medical technology that is second to none. It is a very real possibility that those two people are, indeed, your real parents."

She did not know what to feel at the moment. A mixture of joy, apprehension, and even sadness entered her heart, and she did not know why. She then heard over the recording that they were going to be going back to Federation space and a sense of fear entered her heart. They did not know the truth about Cyrus, so they, and the others, would be easy to trick, at least at first. But she would worry about that later. "My parents are alive," she muttered to herself. At that moment, everything had changed.


End file.
